Unbreakable Bonds
by S.RAYN
Summary: Mikaela has been in love with Yuu since first sight, but being a member of his guardian's criminal organization makes dating hard when you have to keep secrets. When an opportunity arises, despite his better judgement, he jumps at the chance to talk to Yuu and starts them on the path of love, decisions, death, anger, and selfishness for his chance to be happy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mikaela waits for Rene constantly on guard. He's glad this isn't an execution, he hates those, they can get so messy. He wants to get this over with as fast as possible, he has a test in the morning he needs to study for.

Mikaela goes back over the target in his head. Sosuke Kitamura: money laundering. It's not like that's something new in their business and honestly no one would bat an eye. But, he stole from Krul and her position as leader gets more tenuous by the day. It would be foolish of her to let anyone think she would let someone commit crimes against her.

Mika takes a deep breath, fortunately it's just a bit of roughing up and a statement, no torture today. Although Lacus and Rene usually handle that aspect, the positive part of being part of a team.

Rene appears beside him, "You ready? Lacus is already in position and he's grouchy." Mika would be grouchy too if he'd had to hide in the man's office for five hours to make sure they could get in, but unfortunately for him, Lacus drew the short straw.

Mika follows Rene to a side door where Lacus is waiting with an annoyed expression. Mika hands him his gun. "Let's go," Lacus commands "Unlike you two, I haven't eaten for hours." The cameras have already been hacked, the only thing left is to get to Sosuke without being seen, pretty easy when it's after hours and the building is empty except for security.

They proceed swiftly to the elevator and get off one floor before the top, opting to take the stairs up. "Alright," Lacus attaches a silencer to his gun, "let's get this over with." Lacus takes off out the door and has Sosuke shot and pinned down by the time they reach him.

"Your impatience is going to get us killed one of these days," Mika scolds.

"Five hours is enough patience."

"Can't we talk about this," Sosuke implores from his position face first on the floor, his bleeding leg held at an awkward angle.

"There's nothing to talk about," Rene responds. "You stole, you got caught, now you're going to suffer for it, and then we're going home."

"How so?"

"Glad you'll make this easy. You're going to pay back the money you stole with interest, give Krul a stake in your company, we'll record you admitting to all the illicit dealings you did in case we need blackmail material later, and Mika here will you shoot you in the other leg, since he barely does anything anyway. Then we'll leave, quick and simple. Honestly, you're getting off easy. Mika?"

Mika stands up and makes his way over to the guy, Rene does have a point, more often than not, he does leave the dirty work up to them. He takes Lacus' gun and deftly shoots the man in his other leg delivering a quick punch to the jaw to cut off his screams. He stands back and pulls out the camera while they drag Sosuke into a chair. "Okay, start."

Rene is digging his gun into the man's thigh wound to get him to talk when they hear it.

Shit. Sirens. The guy must have hit an alarm switch, Mika is now positive he won't make it to school on time tomorrow.

~~~~~  
Yuuichirou sighed, placing his pencil down and stretching his arms above his head. He's finally finished writing all 200 lines, _I will not sleep in class._ He may have written it, but he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again, especially if he stayed up late again and his classes continued to be boring as fuck.

Yuu turned in his paper and after receiving a nod of confirmation, headed towards the entrance. He shoved open the door to the parking lot and cursed. The parking lot was nearly deserted and of course missing his car. He growled in frustration as he remembered that his car was in the shop and he'd meant to ask one of his friends for a ride home, but had never gotten around to it. With everyone gone, that was out of the question now. How was he supposed to get home?

"Problem?"

Yuuichirou glanced over in surprise, he hadn't noticed anyone was there, and was met with bright blue eyes. Ah, Mikaela Shindou, brilliant blue eyes and matching golden hair. Yuu had a few classes with him, but he'd never really gotten a chance to talk with him. He kept to himself and his two friends, but seemed nice enough.

He also had a really warm smile that Yuu occasionally got to see if their eyes happened to meet. Never for long though, something always seemed to happen. Mikaela didn't have the best reputation and Shinoa in particular didn't seem overly fond of him, preferring to keep their group from crossing paths or interacting as much as possible, unless absolutely necessary.

But seeing Mikaela focused on him now, smiling that half smile, Shinoa's warnings seemed a million miles away. "I..uh…forgot my car was in the shop today."

Mikaela cocked his head, "Why didn't you get one of your friends to drive you home?"

"Well, Guren drove me to school today and I meant to ask one of them, but I forgot and then I got detention and now everyone's gone…"

Mikaela smiled at him amusedly, "If you don't mind stopping by the mall with me, I can drive you home."

"The mall?"

"Yes, I have to pick something up, but I don't mind dropping you off afterwards."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks."

"No problem." There was that smile again, it really was nice to see, Yuuichirou wouldn't mind seeing more of it.

Mikaela led them to a dark blue Honda civic with lightly tinted windows. He hesitated only briefly about getting in the car with someone he barely knew, before ignoring the thought and getting in anyway.

"It's clean in here."

Mikaela laughed lightly, "Thanks, you sound surprised."

"No, it's just most people our age don't keep theirs clean."

Mikaela glanced at him, "I take it yours isn't."

Yuuichirou looked out the window, "Its…okay."

He laughed, "If it makes you feel any better, Krul insists I take care of my things, so that's a big part of it."

"Krul?"

"My guardian." Yuu was curious, but didn't press, it wasn't any of his business anyway and he let them fall into a comfortable silence.

Mikaela turned to him at the entrance to the mall, "I shouldn't be long, let's meet at the smoothie place in 20 minutes? I wanna grab one before we leave."

"Yeah, that's fine." Mikaela gave him another one of those smiles before leaving. Yuu felt his phone buzz as he went into a game store, **[** **How was detention?]** Shinoa, of course. He'd never hear the end of it if she knew who he was with.

 **[It was detention. What do you expect]**

 **[Nothing, but you deserved it. Next time, you'll listen when I try to wake you up.]**

 **[Probably not]**

 **[** **Are you home, come join our chat room, we're working on the assignment]**

 **[I can't, I'm at the mall]**

 **[The mall? What are you there for, you never go there]**

 **[I did today]**

 **[For what?]**

 **[For stuff Shinoa]**

 **[Like what?]**

 **[STUFF]** Yuu shoved his phone in his pocket and stepped up to buy a smoothie. Why'd she have to be so nosy, who cared what he went to the mall for? Feeling another buzz as he took a seat to wait for Mikaela, he reluctantly unlocked his phone.

 **[I have to work late, you're on your own for dinner.]** Yuu grimaced, of course that would happen today. They probably had nothing to eat, Guren hadn't gone grocery shopping in weeks. Fast food seemed the best option, but he felt kind of bad asking to stop somewhere, Mikaela was already taking him home.

"What's with that face?"

Yuu glanced up to see Mikaela holding his own smoothie and a bag from a store he didn't recognize. "No reason, just a text message from Guren, my guardian."

"Bad news?"

"Not really, I feel bad for asking, but…could we stop by a fast food place on the way to my house?"

"That's fine, mind if I ask why?"

"Guren is working late and his message said I was on my own for dinner."

Mikaela looked contemplative for a moment, "You should just come have dinner at my house."

"What?! I can't do that."

Mikaela cocked his head slightly, "Why not?"

"I'd be intruding and I just…couldn't."

"No you wouldn't and yes you could. Krul's not home and I'm already cooking," he said waving the bag with ingredients."

" _You're_ cooking?"

He looked at him imploringly, "Don't make me eat alone."

"If you're sure its fine…"

"Yes! Let's go," he exclaimed grabbing Yuu's wrist and practically dragging him out of the mall.

~~~~~  
Yuuichirou found himself settled at the island in Mika's modern kitchen, the entire room full of black appliances and steel. It was impressive as was the rest of his impeccably decorated large house, a far cry from his and Guren's, which while also big, was nowhere near as decorated or neat. He idly wondered what Mikaela's room looked like.

Speaking of Mikaela, he actually seemed to know what he was doing. Yuu was impressed and as he let his eyes wander a bit lower, he was also pleased with the view. Mika appeared to be making some kind of rice dish, whatever it was, it smelled great. "Hey, how come you're so good at this?"

"How do you know I'm good at it? You haven't even tried it."

"Well, it smells good."

Mikaela laughed, "Krul is gone a lot and over the years, I could only handle so much fast food and take out. Learning to cook seemed like the best option."

"Hmm….what else can you make?"

"Depends, I'm pretty versatile."

"Cool…" Yuu watched him put the finishing touches on the meal.

"Can you grab something to drink from the fridge? I'm good with anything, pick what you want."

"Yea sure," Yuu slid off his chair and went to the fridge. "….What is this stuff, Mikaela?"

"What do you mean?"

"The only thing I recognize is water. And milk."

Mika chuckled, "What were you looking for?"

"Soda? Juice, maybe."

"Sorry Yuuichi-"

"Just call me Yuu."

Mika blushed lightly and turned back towards the stove, "Soda is basically the same as fast food, but the red carton is juice, just probably not as sweet as you're used to."

"Okay," he replies grabbing it and returning to the island.

Mikaela slid onto the chair next to Yuu and placed a plate in front of him.

Yuu inhaled, "Smells good."

"Then I hope you like it."

Yuu took a bite, "It is good!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah, stop being so surprised about me!"

"It's not like I can help it, I don't know anything about you!"

Mika focused those blue eyes on his intensely enough to make Yuu's face begin to warm, "You could get to know me."

Yuu ripped his gaze away, "Y-yeah, I could." From the corner of his eye, he could see Mikaela smiling at him and he hurriedly took another bite in an attempt to keep his face from turning redder.

Mikaela lifted a hand and placed it on Yuu's head, "You're cute Yuu…chan." Yuu nearly choked on his food. Mika laughed, "Yeah, I think I'll stick with that, it fits."

Yuu finally managed to swallow his food, "N-no, don't call me that Mikaela!"

Mikaela let his nails scratch lightly in Yuu's hair, "Call me Mika."

"Ugh."  
~~~~~

Yuuichirou is not surprised to find that Mikaela is good at helping him with homework, he is in higher classes. Despite that, he's not condescending at all with explanations even as he's sitting a bit closer than Yuuichirou is used to. Yuu isn't dumb by any means, but school is not his favorite activity. They've been doing homework for the past ninety minutes when Yuu gets a text message from Guren.

 **[I'm heading home.]**

 **[OK, i'll be there soon]**

 **[What are you talking about? Aren't you already home?]**

 **[no, since SOMEONE didn't buy groceries, I went to a friends house for dinner]**

 **[What the hell kid, you can't just invite yourself to someone's house for dinner. I'll come pick you up on my way. Whose house?]**

 **[it's a new friends house]**

 **[Who?]**

 **[Mikaela]**

 **[A girl? You've never talked about her.]**

 **[a boy and I just met him today]**

 **[Jesus Yuu, you're an idiot. What's the address?]**

Yuu sends him the address and looks over at Mika, "Guren is off work and he's on his way to pick me up."

"Alright, we're pretty much finished here anyway." Mikaela stands and begins making a plate.

"You're still hungry?" Yuu questions.

He shakes his head, "No, it's for your guardian. You said he worked late, so he probably hasn't eaten either."

Yuu blinked in surprise, "Wow…that's really nice of you. Nicer than he deserves honestly."

"Don't be mean," Mika hands him the plate. "Hey…if he needs to sleep in tomorrow….I don't mind taking you to school."

"What? Mika, no. You can't do that, you've already done a lot, probably too much. He'll be fine."

"I don't mind, it's really selfish actually. I never get a chance to talk to you, so…."

"That's true...still!"

"If you really think I've done too much, then you should want to do something in return, hmm?"

"You're so persistent."

"Is that a yes?"

Yuuichirou honestly does feel like Mikaela is doing too much for someone he hardly knows, but since he's insisting and Yuu wouldn't actually mind spending more time with him. "I guess so."

"Yes!" Mikaela's enthusiasm actually makes Yuu blush, but he fights it down with a shake of his head. "What's your number?" Yuu responds and Mika sends him a quick message. "Now, you can text me whenever you want," Mika smiles over at him. "But send me your address first, I'll be there at seven thirty."

Yuu nods and hears Guren honk from outside. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," he says moving towards the door.

"Yeah, I'll pick you up in the morning and take you to get your car after school."

"Wait, that's not what I said!" Mika ignores him and pushes him out the door. "Mika!"

"Better hurry, he looks like he's getting impatient." Mika ushers him down the stairs and waves goodbye. Yuu gives up and walks away, waving back before getting in Guren's car.

Guren looks over at him, "If you weren't done eating, you should have said so."

"I already ate, it's for you stupid." Guren's eyebrows raise in surprise. "He said since you worked late, you probably hadn't eaten yet."

"Wow, this really must be a new friend, none of your friends are that considerate, not even Yoichi," Yuu shrugs. "Is it safe?"

"I'm not dead. If you don't want it, I'll eat it."

"I'm sure you would, but I haven't eaten so I will."

"He's also taking me to school in the morning," Yuu mutters.

"What?"

"And taking me to get my car after school. So you can sleep in."

Guren waits until they're stopped at a red light before turning to look at Yuu. "I thought you said you just met this kid today."

"I did."

"Yet, you're already having dinner at his house and he's driving you around?"

"It's only once and he's not really a stranger."

"Uh huh."

"He goes to my school and we have a few classes together. We just never talked much."

"Any reason for that? Like he's a bit obsessive or something?"

"NO! He's really nice. We just hang out with different people."

Guren pulls into their driveway, "Okay Yuu, I didn't think I needed to tell you this, but obviously I overestimated your intelligence level. For future reference, do NOT get in the car with strangers, do NOT tell them where you live, and do NOT go home with them." Guren drops his keys on the counter, "I can't believe I raised such an idiot kid."

"I told you he's not a stranger and I can take care of myself!"

"Sometimes. _Sometimes_ you can take care of yourself and other times I have no idea what the hell you're thinking." Yuu opens his mouth to protest, but Guren stops him, "Shut up, give me the food, I'm hungry." Yuu practically throws the plate at him.

"I told him you didn't deserve it."

Guren tossed his card at Yuu, "Don't wake me up in the morning. If your new little weirdo wants to be considerate, I'll accept his offer."

"He's not a weirdo."

Guren ignores him, "Your weirdo can cook, this is actually pretty good." Yuu gloats. "Whatever, go to bed, your face is starting to make me lose my appetite."

"You're not?"

"Nah, I've got a bit more work and then I will."

"Alright." As Yuu heads upstairs to prepare for bed, he can't help but think that maybe Guren is a _little_ right. They have been in the same school for years, but not once have they talked. Now, somehow they've spent an entire afternoon and evening together? Not that Yuu minds, Mikaela has never seemed as bad as everyone seemed to act like he was, yet he can't help being a little wary.

He'll just ask him tomorrow to put his doubts to rest and better yet, he can rub it in Guren's face that Mikaela is _not_ a weirdo.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mikaela arrives outside his house at 7:30 on the dot just as he said. Yuu slides into the car and greets him. They've been riding in companionable silence when Yuu finally asks, "Why are you helping me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we've never talked before yesterday and you're doing all this, you even fed me!"

Mikaela is silent for a moment, "Just because we never talked doesn't mean I never wanted to."

"Oh." There's an awkward tension in the car before Yuu can't handle it anymore and blurts out, "You should've just come to talk to me then."

"That's easier said than done. Your friends, one in particular, don't make it easy."

"Shinoa. I don't know what she has against you. Did you two used to know each other?"

Mika shrugs, "Not outside of school, no. Hey…it'd probably be better if you didn't mention this to your friends."

"You're probably right," Yuu sighs. He doesn't think it's a big deal, but somehow he's sure that Mika's right. If Shinoa hears about this, she'll be watching him like a hawk and no doubt her anti-Mika campaign will get even more intense. If she even catches him so much as glancing in Mikaela's direction, the lectures start. _Yuu seriously stay away from him. He's no good, he's bad news. Why are you so oblivious?_

Yet whenever he asks, he can never get a reason why he's no good. Seems a little suspicious to Yuu considering Mikaela's never in trouble and he's been nothing but kind since yesterday. Mikaela pulls into the school parking lot and it's not even half full. "Why did you want to get here so early?"

"It's not that early, plus it'd be better if your friends didn't see you arrive with me."

Yuu studies him, "You seem very aware of Shinoa. Is it really that big a deal?"

"I don't want any….problems to come up."

"Problems like what."

Mika makes a noise of frustration, "I just wanted to hang out with you without anyone interfering. Is that too much to ask?"

"No…." Yuu answers slowly.

"Then, we can just leave it at that." He ushers Yuuichirou out of the car, "I'll meet you here after school. 10 minutes after the bell."

"Uh, alright."

"Cool," Mika replies before making a hasty retreat leaving Yuu standing in the parking lot. Okay so maybe Guren was a _little_ right, Mika is either hiding something or just really cautious because he understands not wanting to have a run in with Shinoa, but to go out of the way to make sure she doesn't find out? That's weird.

~~~~~  
Mika stares blankly at the teacher, mind a million miles away. He can't believe it, he finally got to talk to Yuuichirou, granted he probably thinks Mika's a little weird, but still! He's wanted to hang out with Yuuichirou ever since freshman year and to think it finally happened. He found him alone without his usual group of friends.

They've been the biggest obstacle, specifically Shinoa. She apparently thinks Mika is the worst thing that could happen to Yuu and she tries her hardest to keep them apart. She's not wrong, but he doesn't have to like it. It is partially his fault though, he let his guard down and got caught. He's been curious about Yuuichirou ever since he first saw him, then after months of watching him and seeing his spirit, his grin, and his magnetic personality, Mika developed a full blown crush and that's when he really started actively watching him.

He couldn't help it, his eyes automatically sought Yuuichirou out when he would heard his voice and it was hard to keep his gaze away. He was always aware of where Yuuichirou was when they were in the same room. Then one day, waiting for his ride, he had seen Yuuichirou laughing with his group of friends and proceeded to watch him shamelessly. Yuuichirou was radiant and he couldn't keep the small smile off his face.

Mika had thought he was well hidden, but apparently he wasn't because Shinoa had seen him watching and the minute their gazes connected, she glared. That was when her anti-Mika campaign begin. Lacus and Rene while sympathetic, as much as those two could be, said it was probably for the best. After all, Mika had a lot of secrets and trying to manage a relationship while hiding them was bound to end in disaster.

Despite being for the best, it never changed his feelings in the least, if anything they got stronger. And if he still got caught watching every now and again, well what did it matter, it's not like Yuuichirou noticed anyway.

But, fuck, when he saw him yesterday, it was the perfect chance, so Mikaela ignored every warning in his head against approaching him and did it anyway. For the opportunity to be that close to him, to talk to him, to touch him, it was so worth it, even if he never got the chance again after today.

Unfortunately, it was the day after the incident with Mr. Kitamura and he was still tired from that. The situation turned into such a mess and he didn't get home until late, then he overslept hence the reason he was there so late after school.

Once they heard the alarms going off in the building, they had to get out of there fast with Kitamura's bleeding body because leaving it half-finished was not an option. So, they'd had to gag him and get him into the car while trying not to leave blood everywhere and the trunk wasn't an option because of the latch releases.

Mika had to hold him down the entire ride to the warehouse where they could finally finish. Then, Lacus was even more annoyed, so he smacked him around a bit. Finally after dumping Kitamura on an abandoned street, they still had to have the car cleaned, it looked like a murder scene from all his thrashing around and Lacus refused anyone going home until he got food. Mika didn't get home until 3am, one of their worst nights in a while. But, despite his exhaustion spending time with Yuuichirou made everything better.

"Mikaela," Rene hissed.

Mika blinked in surprise pulled from his thoughts, "What?"

"He's going to call on you if you keep looking at him like that."

"Like what?

"Like you have no fucking clue what's going on."

"I don't."

Rene rolled his eyes, "What are you thinking so hard about anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Yuuichirou?"

Mikaela froze, "Why would I be thinking about him," he asked carefully.

"You think we didn't see you arrive with him this morning?"

"…."

"Well we did. What were you doing anyway?"

"Nothing, I just drove him to school because his car was in the shop."

"And how would you know that?"

"…."

"Mikaela," Rene sighed. "I advise against this even though I know you're going to do what you want anyway."

"It was just one day."

"Uh huh, try not to get yourself or him killed. They'd probably make us do it."

"Today's probably the last day I'll see him."

"Like I believe that, just don't drag us down with you."

"I won't." And he wouldn't, the last thing he wanted was to cause a mess or Yuuichirou to get hurt. He sighed, speaking of Yuuichirou, it was almost time for him to meet Yuu for what could be their last time together.

~~~~~  
Yuu threw his book in his locker debating on how to kill time for 10 minutes, the least he could do is respect Mikaela's wishes, but it'll be completely obvious he's stalling if he stays here and he doesn't want anyone watching him.

He feels like such a creeper walking outside and hiding behind the bushes waiting for everyone to leave, but he has no clue what else to do. He spots his friends getting in their cars to leave and they're the main ones Mika is concerned about, but if too many other people see him get in the car with Mikaela, it'll definitely get back to them.

Yuu growls in frustration, it feels like he's trying to commit a crime when all he's doing is getting a ride home. He spots Mikaela with his friends and decides he's had enough. He dashes over and hops in the passenger seat before Mikaela even has a chance to get in. Through the window, he can see Lacus and Rene giving Mika weird looks which he's shrugging off before saying goodbye.

Mika opens the door and sits in the driver's seat, "What was that Yuu-chan?"

"I was tired of feeling like a criminal hiding in the bushes."

"Why were you in the bushes," Mika asked in confusion.

"Because you said to meet you 10 minutes after the bell!"

"I never said hide in the bushes," Mika chuckles. "You could have just sat outside or stopped by the library."

"….I didn't think of that."

"You're still so cute," Mikaela sighs reaching out to ruffle his hair, but Yuu leans away.

"No! No messing up my hair today."

"Aw, why not," Mika questions leaning closer.

"Because!" _Because it gives me a weird feeling in my stomach._

"But, what if I _really_ want to," Mika says leaning even closer causing Yuu to back up against the door.

"T-too bad." Yuu's practically pinned against the door and he can feel his face turning red from Mikaela's proximity and that in turn makes him even redder. He's wondering when it got so hot in here when Mika pulls back with a laugh.

"Sorry, Yuu-chan, you're just too fun to tease. Where's the place at?"

Yuu breathes a sigh of relief at getting his personal space back, sometimes it's hard to breathe when Mikaela's that close. "I'll give you directions."

"Sounds good."

Fifteen minutes later they arrive at the car dealership and Yuu gets out. "Thank you for this and you know everything."

Mika gives him a soft smile tinged with a bit of sadness, "No problem, Yuu-chan. I'll see you around."

Yuu watches Mikaela drive off before entering the building and paying for his car. He feels unexpectedly sad and it doesn't help when he gets home and Guren is working late again. Guren still hasn't bought groceries, so he ends up ordering a pizza to eat while watching TV. It never used to feel this lonely eating dinner alone.

For once he's actually looking forward to school tomorrow, even if he'll have to be sneaky about it, it makes him feel less lonely knowing he'll be around Mikaela again. He just has to keep Shinoa off his trail.

But, as it turns out the next day, Yuu finds that his planning didn't even matter because Mikaela is absent and barely at school for the next two weeks. He never gets a chance to talk to him and he can't help but feel disappointed about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Yuu, is there something wrong?" Yoichi questions.

"Nah," he shakes his head, "why?"

"Well, you've seemed a little out of it lately."

"Really?" He plays it off, "I feel fine."

"Seriously," Kimizuki interjects, "what's been up with you lately? You've been spacier than usual."

"I've just got some things on my mind, it's nothing."

"Like what?" Shinoa slides over, "You can tell us, we _are_ your friends."

"It's nothing, can we just go." Yuu stands up, dumps his tray, and leaves. They give each other quizzical looks, the others didn't see it, but Shinoa did. No matter how discreet Yuu was trying to be, Shinoa saw his gaze do a quick sweep over the room distinctly looking for someone and his disappointment when he didn't find them. She doesn't know if she's right on guessing who he's looking for, but the only people that have been noticeably absent more often than not is….Mikaela's group.

Shinoa narrows her eyes, Yuu won't use common sense to save his life. Why would he even be looking for them? Or more likely Mikaela. Did he finally notice all those lingering glances he's been oblivious to? Even if he didn't notice them, Shinoa thinks Mikaela's feelings probably aren't entirely one-sided. Yuu might not be fully aware of it, but he's got some interest in Mikaela too, if that light flush he gets when Mikaela smiles at him is any indication.

She's never brought it up because she didn't want to actually make him think about it especially when she's trying so hard to stamp out any interest between them. Doesn't Yuu hear the rumors, can't he figure out it's for his own good?

"Yuu!" Shinoa calls running after him.

"Yeah?"

"Were you looking for….Mikaela?"

Yuu tenses, "Why?"

"Yuu," Shinoa sighs, "it's not a good idea."

"Not this again," Yuu mutters in irritation.

"But, it's true!"

"You have never once been able to give me a reason why."

"That's…just…you hear the rumors!"

"Rumors aren't fact."

"Yeah, but they usually have some semblance of truth. Just listen to me, why are you so stubborn?"

"Why are you so against him?"

This isn't working, Shinoa switches tactics, "There are plenty of people who'd like a chance to go out with you, you know."

Yuu stares at her in disbelief, "What are you talking about Shinoa?"

"You could take one on a date, see how it goes."

"Shinoa. Even if I was looking for Mikaela, he's not here, so what's it matter?"

"Just…be careful."

"I will," Yuu replies walking off.

Yuuichirou feels a little bad about not being honest with Shinoa, but her grudge against Mika is starting to drive him insane. It wasn't so bad before, but now that he's actually spent time with him, her grudge doesn't feel justified.

Speaking of Mika, where has he been the past 2 weeks, he's been absent more often than not. When he is here, he looks exhausted as hell, actually Lacus and Rene do also. Are they skipping together? Then why does he look so tired all the time?

Yuu hasn't had another chance to approach him since he got his car back. He does have his number though….and he did say he could text him anytime. Yuu whips out his phone.

 **[Hey Mika]**

The response is almost instantaneous.

 **[Hey Yuu-chan!** **:)** **]**

Yuu smiles at Mika's response and decides he can be a little late to class.

~~~~~  
Mikaela is right in the middle of playing assistant to Lacus' torture when his phone dings.

"Do you seriously have your phone on right _now_ ," Rene asks.

"No one ever calls and this wasn't too important, so I didn't bother cutting it off."

Rene rolls his eyes, "You're a terrible partner."

"It's Yuu-chan!" Mika yells excitedly hopping off the man and quickly typing out a response. "He finally texted me!"

"MIKAELA," they both shout at once.

"Now is not the time. Rene, come hold him down," Lacus commands.

He moves to take Mika's place and stop the man's thrashing, " _You're_ supposed to be holding him down."

"I know, but its Yuu-chan!" Mika responds lighting up when his phone dings again.

"It could be Santa Claus for all I care, get the hell over here!" Mika tunes him out.

 **[you haven't been in school much lately…..]**

 **[I know, ive had some family stuff going on]**

 **[oh. when will you be back?]**

 **[probably next week, its wrapping up soon]**

 **[cool, so how are you at baking?]**

"Mika, I swear if you don't get over here, we're coming after you next." Mika looks up at Lacus in irritation before pulling out his gun and shooting the man in the chest point blank. "Miiiika! I'm going to kill you!"

"You were going to kill him anyway!"

"You took away my fun!"

"That wasn't in the orders, I was being a good employee."

"Don't lie, you killed him, so you could text Yuuichirou back!"

"Uh guys," Rene interjects, "he's kind of bleeding everywhere, I could use some help getting it under control." He's ignored.

"Rene was struggling to keep him under control, plus we had everything we needed from him. I was helping everyone."

Lacus throws up his hands in frustration, "Clean the blood up, so we can go."

"Why just me?"

"Because _you_ shot him for something you shouldn't be encouraging anyway. Let's go Rene." Rene dumps the man on the floor and stands up to follow Lacus.

"If you're just going to leave him in the middle of the floor, why do I need to clean up?"

"Because that's not how we do things. Clean up, sit him in his chair, and we'll be waiting in the car."

"Shit," Mikaela looks at the mess on the floor, well he might as well text Yuu back first.

 **[I think im good at it, why?]**

 **[well if youre not busy this weekend, you could…bake me a cake]**

 **[a cake? What kind of cake?]**

 **[I dunno, just a cake]**

 **[Yuu-chan, if you wanted to hang out, that's all you had to say ;D]**

 **[…..I wanna hang out]**

 **[Me too! And I'll still make you a cake, whats your favorite kind?]**

 **[you don't have to now]**

 **[nah, I don't mind. What do you like?]**

 **[shortcake]**

 **[huh, never made that, but im sure I can! saturday 1?]**

 **[okay, I'll bring the stuff]**

 **[no its okay, I got it]**

 **[nope, im bringing, you fed me dinner]**

 **[do you even know what goes in a shortcake?]**

 **[Ill look it up]**

 **[okay, yuu-chan, ill text you later, I gotta go]**

 **[k see you Saturday]**

 **[** **:)** **]**

Mika grins, Yuu reached out to him, that's more than he expected and the best he never allowed himself to hope for. Fortunately, since they took care of this guy, that cuts the head off this little group rebelling against Krul and Mika would be free to go back to school for a while. Best of all, he could sleep off his exhaustion tomorrow and spend Saturday with Yuu.

Which brings him back to the current situation, the mess on the floor. Mika sighs before grabbing supplies from his bag and getting to work. Luckily, the blood flow has slowed, he quickly pads the wound with gauze and tightly wraps it in a tourniquet, stripping the man of his shirt, and buttoning up his clean jacket over it. He hauls the traitor into his desk chair and places his head on the desk, now it just looks like he's sleeping. An unfortunate surprise awaits whoever finds him, but that's not Mika's problem.

He heads to the janitor's closet for a broom and some spill magic, efficiently sweeping up the blood and bleaching the floor. Mika dumps everything and heads for the car. Mika slides into the backseat, buckling his seatbelt before settling down for the drive.

"You smell." Mika glares at Lacus. "Like bleach."

"Well, no shit, you did say to clean up."

"I didn't say you had to sanitize the place down."

"Shut up. Wake me up when we get there."

~~~~~  
A few hours later Rene pulls into the underground parking garage of the complex and Lacus punches Mika awake receiving a glare in return.

"We're here."

"Clearly."

Mika gets out of the car and heads farther into the building, Lacus and Rene trailing after him. He passes several corridors before reaching Krul's office door with gold engraving and knocking, entering when she answers. Krul looks up from the scattered papers on her large desk and gestures for him to speak.

"It's done," Mika says,

"How'd it go?

"No problems, everything went perfectly." Mika is silently grateful that the others don't do or say anything telling.

"Excellent job. That takes care of this situation, you're free to go. Classes are taken care of until Monday, so it's up to you if you go or not."

They nod and Krul dismisses them. Mika watches them leave before turning back to Krul, "I have a friend coming over Saturday."

"A friend? Not Lacus or Rene?"

"No…someone else. It's a classmate."

"I suppose that's fine, but make sure you don't leave anything questionable out. I can't believe you're branching out."

"It's just one person."

"Tell me about him."

"His name is Yuuichirou," Mika starts hesitantly. "We have art and gym together."

"Will we be seeing a lot of Yuuichirou?"

"I don't know." Before Krul can continue her questioning, there's a knock on the door and she calls for them to come in. Of course, it's no one Mikaela is interested in seeing.

"Ferid," Krul greets.

"Why hello Krul and Mikaela too?" He turns to Mika, "You're looking a bit more tired than usual. Is Krul working you too hard? I wouldn't do that."

Mikaela dodges Ferid's attempts at a hug, "Ferid, I trained with you. I know you would do the same."

"Yes, but I gave you hugs afterward," he smirks, "it was worth it for the reward, huh?"

"No, it was never worth it."

"Come now Mika, we both know that's a lie. You used to be such a sweet kid and you always wanted hugs for a job well done."

"We both know that's over and done with," Mika snaps.

"But, oh how I miss those days," Ferid laments.

"And you'll keep missing them because they're never coming back."

"Yet, I'm not the only one who suffers."

Mikaela glares and steps back towards the door, he and Ferid have a complicated relationship and the guy knows exactly how to get under his skin. He hates how well Ferid knows him. He nods goodbye to Krul, purposely ignoring Ferid, and leaves. Mika shuts the door behind him and turns to see Lacus and Rene who are both looking at him with identical looks of expectation.

"Thank you." He might have mentioned Yuuichirou to Krul, but she'd be none too pleased if she knew what he'd done.

"You're welcome. We are partners, we couldn't sell you out."

"Even if you'll screw up sooner or later," Rene adds.

"Thanks guys."

"You want a ride back home?"

"Nah, I think I'll just stay the night here."

"Alright, we'll see you later." Mikaela watches them leave before turning away. He makes his way past meeting rooms and to the personal quarters, and enters his room. His room is large, but simply furnished with a four poster bed, desk, and couch, all high quality as Krul insists upon. Even though, it's not as personalized as his room at home, it's still comfortable and he welcomes the sight of it.

After a quick shower in the connecting bathroom, he climbs into bed, looking forward to finally being able to relax after weeks of following orders.

~~~~~  
Yuu is excited, he woke up early this morning to look up the recipe online and buy everything it said, now he's finally on his way to Mikaela's. Mika hadn't shown up to school Friday either, but when Yuu texted he had said Saturday was still fine, so Yuu assumes everything worked out.

He pulls into the driveway, parking his car and getting out with the bag of ingredients. Mika opens the door with a smile before he even has a chance to knock.

"Hey Yuu-chan, glad you made it."

"Hey, of course." Mika looks refreshed and really relaxed, not at all tired likes he been at school the past few weeks.

Mikaela takes the bag from him and leads him to the kitchen, gesturing for him to take a seat. Mika washes his hands and begins taking out the ingredients and preparing the cake. He glances up at Yuu who's watching him in fascination, "Anything interesting at school? Got any more detention," he teases.

"That was a one-time thing!"

"Go home with anymore strangers lately?"

Yuu frowns and looks away, "Guren was kind of pissed about that, besides you invited me over."

"He was mad?"

"He thinks it was an idiotic thing to do and that I can't take care of myself." Mika hums, perhaps Yuu was a bit too trusting. "But, it's fine, you're a classmate. Speaking of which, nothings interesting there, but you wouldn't know that, would you? Since you haven't been there."

Mika looks up at him in curiosity. "Are you," Mika pauses with a grin, "scolding me for being absent?"

"No! I'm just saying you haven't been there!"

Mikaela laughs, "Does that mean you missed me?"

"I didn't say that."

"It's okay, you don't have to. I missed you though." Mika swipes a dollop of whipped cream across Yuu's nose.

"Hey!" Yuu protests, "What was that for?"

"To keep you from frowning, I had a feeling you might start sulking."

"I don't sulk."

"Mmm."

"Can I help?" Mika hands him the bowl and directs him to slowly stir while he begins slicing strawberries. "Is everything okay?

"What do you mean?"

"Your family stuff. Did everything work out alright?"

"Oh. Yeah…it was nothing too bad, just time consuming." Yuu really wants to pry because Mika has been absent a lot the past few weeks along with Lacus and Rene, but he doesn't want to be too intrusive. Despite everything, he really did just meet him. Mika takes the bowl from him, "What are you thinking so hard about? You're always staring off into space."

"Nothing, just thinking how long before I get cake."

Mika puts the cake in the oven and turns to face Yuu with a smile, "Come on, let's go outside while it bakes." He takes Yuu by the wrist and leads him outside where they take a seat on the porch swing.

It's nice like this, Yuu thinks. Sitting here swinging outside, talking and getting to know Mika. They really haven't talked all that much before and Yuu doesn't know much about him even though he wants to. This is only the second time they've actually spent time together. When the timer goes off, they head back inside where Mika finishes the cake.

It's really good and Yuu ends up eating two giant slices much to Mika's amusement, but not his stomach's. Mika's putting everything away when Yuu excitedly asks if he can see his room. Mika agrees and Yuu follows him upstairs, his eyes widening in surprise when they reach his room.

Mikaela's room looks nothing like he expects, but at the same time, it fits him. All the furniture was white, the colors in the room were all quiet colors, and several shelves with teddy bears lined the walls, unexpected, but it matched Mikaela's sweet personality perfectly. He noticed Mikaela giving him a look, "I didn't say anything," he exclaimed.

"Your surprise is written all over your face, Yuu-chan."

He looked away sheepishly, "Well, I _am_ still trying to get to know you." Mika sighs and collapses in his desk chair, spinning around to face the TV searching for something to watch. Yuu makes himself comfortable on the couch. "What's with the teddy bears?"

"Hmm? I like them. Well, really I like the feelings behind them."

"You have a lot."

"Some are from Krul, but most are from her coworker. I don't particularly like him, so it's hard to like the bears, but I keep them because they're nice. As much as I don't like him, he knows exactly which kind I like."

"Why don't you tell him you don't want anymore?"

"I have, but he doesn't listen. Honestly, it could be worse."

Yuu hums in agreement and lets it go. He's half way to dozing off when someone enters the room.

"Mikaela? Are you…oh. You must be Yuuichirou. I'm Krul." Yuu is instantly wide awake and nodding at the woman who just enters. She's very short, her hair is bright pink, and she looks young. If Mika hadn't told him Krul was his guardian before, he might have mistaken her an older sister.

"Nice you to meet you. Thanks for having me over." Guren has always taught him to be polite and despite her size, Krul seems to have an authoritative presence, even more so than Guren.

"It's no problem, any friend of Mika's is welcome. Mika, I just wanted to see if you were home. I'll leave you two."

Yuu watches her leave before settling back down on the couch letting his eyes fall shut, his stomach was getting worse, "She seems nice."

"Yeah….Yuu-chan, you're not falling asleep on my couch, are you?"

"Mmm, no. I just don't feel good, I think you poisoned me."

"What! I did not."

Yuu smiles, "I know, I know, I think I just ate too much cake."

Mika laughs, "You probably did, two giant slices."

Yuu opens his eyes to give Mika a halfhearted glare, "It was good okay. I didn't think about how much I was eating."

"It's your cake, I'll go get you some water."

By the time Mikaela returns with water, Yuuichirou is already fast asleep. Mikaela smiles lightly before setting the water beside him and brushing back a few strand of Yuu's hair. He closes the door and makes his way back downstairs to the living room where Krul is idly eating a slice.

"So that's Yuuichirou, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Where is he?"

"He ate too much cake, got a stomachache, and fell asleep."

"He's not exactly what I was expecting."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's not like Lacus or Rene at all."

"You wanted me to bring home a killer? I think I'm around enough of those."

Krul frowned, "That's not what I meant Mika. He just seems….innocent."

Mikaela tenses, that's exactly how he feels about it too, he's not trying to ruin Yuu, but he can't exactly help his feelings. Krul confirming what he already thought doesn't exactly make him feel less guilty. "So…you don't want him to come back over?"

"I'm just saying be careful, you know what my position is like right now. I can't show leniency."

"It's not like I'm telling him secrets."

"I know Mika, just a warning. We don't want any incidents."

"I got it."

~~~~~  
Yuu woke abruptly, confused as to where the hell he was. Why was he on a couch? Whose room was this? He sat there in shock before recalling that he was at Mika's house and the last thing he remembered was Mika leaving to get water and of course Mika is gone now.

Yuu approaches the living room where he can hear Mika and Krul quietly talking. He's unsure of how to interrupt, so he awkwardly stands at the entryway until Mika happens to notice and beckons him over, moving over on the couch to make room for him.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You said you didn't feel well."

"I can't just come to someone's house and fall asleep."

Mika rests his head on Yuu's shoulder, "I didn't mind. You feel better?"

"Actually I do," Yuu says reaching over for a strawberry from the bowl in Mika's lap.

"And the first thing you do is eat more."

Yuu makes a face, "There's no sugar in these. It's fine."

"I'm trying to watch the movie over here."

"Sorry," Yuu mumbles shrinking into the couch.

"She's just joking," Mika whispers into his ear. Yuu nods, resisting the urge to tense up at Mikaela's actions. He wondered if Mika could feel his pulse speeding up from his proximity and if it'd be too obvious if he tried to inch away. Fortunately, the world took pity on him and Mika sits up, commenting on the time and when Krul is going to make dinner.

Which brings Yuu's attention to the fact that it's almost seven at night, he's surprised Guren hasn't blown up his phone yet or maybe he has. "I didn't know it was so late, I've gotta go."

Mika nods and Krul tells him goodbye. Mika hands him the cake and walks him to the door. "FYI, next time you want to hang out, you don't have to ask for a cake."

"I said you didn't have to make it!"

"Uh huh. I'll see you at school."

"You _will_ be back on Monday?"

"Yes Yuu-chan, you don't have to go through your days without me any longer," Mika teases.

Yuu shakes his head before walking away, Mikaela watches him go. "I saw that."

He turns to look at Krul, "Saw what?"

"You said he was a friend."

"He is."

"Really? That's not the way you looked at him."

"I don't want to hear this. Everything is fine. _Just_ friends." And when Mikaela walks away, she knows there's nothing she can say, he'll be left to clean up his own mess.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Mika idly taps his pen on the table, class is so boring and the teacher's droning on and on about something he cares very little about. Mika sighs and glances out the window, it's a clear blue day and he'd love to be outside. One of the times he can actually appreciate when Krul pulls him from school to carry out orders, sitting here is tedious.

On the bright side though, Yuu is in his art class. Since all his classes are on a higher level, courtesy of Krul's choice to hire him specialized tutors rather than send him to school when he was first adopted, art and gym are the only two classes they have together. Mikaela is back to doodling when the teacher mentions something about partners and his eyes light up.

This is perfect and from the disapproving looks Rene and Lacus are giving him, his face says exactly what he's thinking. He quietly slips off his stool and starts stealthily moving to the back of the room, he has to be discreet, can't let Shinoa see him.

"This will be a semester long project," the teacher continues.

Mika reaches the back of the room. The teacher's eyeing him suspiciously.

"You and your partner will both be held responsible for delivering a high quality project since you'll have several months to work on it."

Mika takes a seat at a nearby table, body tense, ignoring the looks the occupants are giving him.

"You are free to pick your own partner, tell me when you have chosen and have a project decided by the end of class."

The minute she says "class," Mikaela is rushing towards Yuuichirou and grabbing his arm to turn him around. "Will you be my partner," he rushes out.

Yuu looks at him in surprise and confusion, "Uh….sure?"

"Great!" Mikaela starts to return to his table, but stops when he hears Shinoa call out Yuu's name.

"Yuu," she grits out, "you can't partner with him. This project is for a _semester."_

"I know, but he kind of asked first and I already said yes."

"I shouldn't have had to ask! I thought you'd know!"

"I'm sorry Shinoa."

"Who am I supposed to pair with now?"

"Well….I'm sure there are plenty of people who want to partner with you."

Shinoa turns to look at Kimizuki and Yoichi who are standing next to each other. Kimizuki grabs Yoichi's wrist and shakes his head. She turns back to glare daggers at Yuu.

"Slim pickings, Yuu."

"Sorry," he replies guiltily.

"Come on," Mikaela encourages tugging on his wrist, "we have to pick a project by the end of class." Shinoa gives him a glare that says she knows exactly what he's doing and he's not going to get away with it.

"I'll partner with you next time Shinoa, promise," Yuu says before letting Mika pull him away to their table. Yuu takes a seat and greets the other two boys, receiving a nod from Rene and a smirk from Lacus.

"So Mika managed to pair with his boyfriend after all."

Mika sent Lacus a look, ignoring Yuu's flushed face and sliding the paper towards him, "So what do you want to do?"

"I haven't thought too much about it, I'm open to anything. Maybe building something?"

"Hmm...that could work, we do have enough time to work on it."

"Then let's build a castle."

"Sounds easy enough."

"Then Yuu can be the princess, Mika can be his prince charming, and you can both live happily ever after. Although, we all know that's not going to happen."

"Lacus for the love of god will you shut up. I get it. I swear if we weren't here…."

"You'd fight me?"

"Yes!"

"We'd see how well that would turn out."

"We'd see just how much of your "fun" I could take from you."

Lacus narrows his eyes, "And if I really could kill you." Mika meets him glare for glare for who knows how long until Yuu clears his throat.

"Uh, so castle, yeah?" Mika gives him an apologetic look before agreeing. They discuss the project a bit more before submitting it and agreeing to meet at Yuu's house after school before parting ways. That was weird. He's never seen them be so hostile to each other, granted they weren't ever a group full of sunshine and energy, but there was clearly something Lacus was angry about. Yuu's getting a weird feeling Shinoa might be onto something...speaking of which, she was approaching him fast and she still looked annoyed.

"Yuu! What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You know what! Don't play dumb. Why would he be bold enough to partner with you? He's never talked to you before."

"Well….actually."

"...What did you do?"

"He took me home the day my car was in the shop after making me dinner. Then took me to school the next day and to get my car. I also spent the afternoon at his house last Saturday."

Shinoa stares at Yuu in shock, no wonder he felt confident enough, apparently Yuu hasn't done anything to dissuade him. He's walking into the lion's den blind and he doesn't even know it. She can't get through to him and she can't say anything. Yuu is going to hurt so bad when everything's said and done. She looks at him sadly, "Yuu...you won't listen to me, but please at least try to be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's okay Shinoa," he reassures her. "Mika's really nice, I don't think you have anything to worry about." If only that were true, Shinoa thinks.

~~~~~  
Yuuichirou throws open the door running into his house, Mika shouldn't be too far behind him after stopping by the store and he wanted to make sure the house wasn't a mess. He flew past the kitchen on his way to the living room before backtracking just as fast. "Guren! Are you eating my cake?!" Yuu yelled in annoyance.

"Nope."

"I see it in your mouth!"

"Then don't ask questions if you already know."

"Mika made that cake for me!"

"Yuu, you can't eat all of this by yourself. Well, actually, you probably could knowing you."

"Who's Mika?" Shinya questions.

"Yuu's new weirdo, some kid he went home with one day who now apparently bakes him cakes."

"Ah, see Guren, I told you that you should've waited and asked Yuu first."

Guren side eyes him, "Why are you acting like you didn't just eat a slice before Yuu got here, Shinya?"

"Sorry Yuu," Shinya looks at him sheepishly, "Guren said it was okay."

Yuu sighs, "It's fine, you're not the one who keeps calling him names."

"He is a weirdo," Guren taunts.

"Stop calling him that!"

"I will when you prove he's not," Guren replies eating another bite of cake.

"He's on his way over now, so you can meet him."

"It'll have to be another day," Guren places his dishes in the sink, "I have to be back at work, I just needed to stop by the house."

"You're leaving _again?"_ Yuu cries in frustration. "You're always working!"

"Yeah, but I don't see you complaining when you're eating the food my hard work pays for."

"What food? You haven't grocery shopped in weeks!"

"Yeah cause I'm busy working." Guren hands him $20, "If he decides to stay too, you can order dinner since apparently there's no food."

Yuu groans in frustration, "Whatever."

Shinya pats him on the back on the way out the door with Guren, "Sorry Yuu, hopefully work will die down soon.

Yuu watches them go, it seems like he's always home alone now. Guren's been working more and more lately in the past few months and the house is empty except for him more often than not. He actually misses the older male's presence in the house, it feels too big when he's always alone here. Maybe one of the reasons he didn't mind going to Mika's house for dinner.

Mika arrives shortly after that carrying a bag of supplies. Yuu is happy to see him even if he's still rather frustrated about Guren. Yuu greets him and they end up in the living room, which fortunately turns out to be clean, to discuss more about the project, but you can barely concentrate on what Mika's saying, he's too distracted which Mika must have picked up on.

"Yuu-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You seem a little….distracted."

"Nah, it's nothing. I just argued with Guren before you came."

"Ah, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, it'll pass."

"That's fine," Mika comes around the table to sit next to him leaning his head on Yuu's shoulder. "But, if you want to talk, I'm here. You can call me anytime."

"Thanks Mika." Yuu leans his head against the other boys and quietly inhales. Mika has a unique scent, it's just this side of sweet, but with a hint of something spicier underneath, just enough to make you curious, kind of like his personality.

Yuu's been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even registered when Mika had laid them down, he'd merely adjusted. Nor, had he noticed Mika stroking his side over his shirt or the fact that they're practically cuddling. It's comfortable with Mika, Yuu thinks. His presence is relaxing, taking away the loneliness and replacing it with something warm and satisfying.

He doesn't know how long they've lain there when Mika's phone chimes and he pulls away breaking the peaceful atmosphere. Mika glances down at his phone and his face freezes before looking back at Yuu apologetically. "Sorry Yuu-chan, I've gotta go." Yuu reassures him it's fine while Mika hastily gathers his things and leaves. Mika pauses by the door and visibly hesitates, "Hey...Me, Lacus, and Rene are going rock climbing, would you wanna come?"

"Yeah! I'd definitely come," Yuu answers irregardless of the fact that he's never rock climbed in his life.

"Cool, I'll text you the details later!"

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." Yuu nods and watches Mika drive away before sighing.

He's alone again.

~~~~~  
Of all the people to interrupt them, it had to be Ferid of course. He's always finding a way to make a pain out of himself. Mika finds the room he specified and his gaze zeroes in on Ferid, "What the hell do you want?"

"Mika," Ferid greet enthusiastically extending a hand to him, which Mika quickly brushes away. "You're the first to arrive, Lacus and Rene are on their way."

"What's this about? You demanded I get here right away."

"There's a job for you three and it needs to be taken care of quickly."

"Why are you the one telling us?"

"Because I'm going with you," Ferid grins.

"Absolutely not! We don't need your help"

"You don't have a choice."

Lacus saunters into the room with Rene trailing behind him, "So, what's the job?"

"We need you to go get a box. It's in one of our former client's houses and we want it back."

There was a pause, "We're not thieves," Rene states.

"Actually you're whatever you're told to be. And in this case, you're going over there and taking that box back. This actually came down from your mother Rene, so I suggest you not fail."

"We don't need you with us."

"Lately, there have been some….discrepancies between the scene and what you say happened, I'm here to make sure you do things right."

Mika internally curses, their silence and lack of defense might as well be an admission of guilt. Why did he ever think Krul wouldn't find out? He should've known better. That's it then, Ferid is coming and there's nothing they can do about it. Mika resigns himself to a long night.

Ferid tells them the details and they head out. He has no doubt he'll hear about this later from Lacus and Rene, after years of training they were finally on their own and now they're back to having a handler like kids that can't be trusted. Lacus must be furious and Mika's entirely to blame. It's a long, silent two hour drive.

When they arrive, Ferid gives them a description of the box and a quick breakdown of its location. "Here are your guns," he says handing them smaller weapons.

"What's wrong with ours?" Rene questions.

"These are loaded with tranquilizers. We don't want him killed, he's still a valuable client, just a warning not to keep secrets from us. Shoot him, shoot the kid, shoot anyone you see."

"Shoot the kid?" Mika questions shooting Ferid a look of thinly veiled disgust.

Ferid smirks. "They're only tranquilizer bullets. You're not killing them. However I can understand if that's too much for you," he says patronizingly.

"It's fine," Mika grits out. He wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't actually in the orders, just Ferid fucking with him. He's such a psychopath and he knows it, but can't accept that Mika wants nothing to do with him.

"How do we get in?" Rene asked in confusion, "Do you have a key?"

"No, simply break a window, a door, whatever you have to do."

"Won't that alert the police?"

"Then you'll just have to be fast, won't you? Here are earpieces, wear them. I'm staying out here, but I need to be able to hear exactly what's going on and what you're doing." They take the earpieces and Ferid points them in the direction of the house. "Don't mess this up, remember I can hear everything," Ferid tells them with a grin.

They move to the house, leaving Ferid behind and preparing to enter. As they approach the house, Rene wraps his fist in his jacket and prepares to punch through the window. They have to do this fast. Once he sees they're ready, he quickly punches through the window, loudly shattering glass, and unlocks the door.

They rush through, only for a large dog to come running around the corner, they immediately take a step back except for Lacus who merely kicks the snarling dog aside none too gently before releasing a dart.

"Ferid didn't mention a dog," Rene mutters.

"Of course he fucking didn't," Mika mutters. He's sure the whole house is up now, especially with the alarm ringing.

"A surprise here and there keeps things interesting," they hear Ferid taunt through their earpieces.

They ignore him and quickly move up the stairs to the master bedroom where the man is quickly trying to cover himself. As if state of dress would matter if you were about to die. Lacus directs him to find the wife and Mika leaves them to it.

He follows rustling to a room down the hall where he sees a child sleeping in bed, the child Ferid directed him to shoot. He's mentally cursing Ferid when he sees a flash to his right and just manages to sidestep the woman swinging a lamp at him.

She's brandishing it in front of her with no regard to her state of undress, not that Mika would be interested anyway. When he levels his gun at her, she falls to her knees and begs him not to shoot her son, Mika merely discharges a dart and turns back to the kid. She'll find herself lucky when they all wake up in the morning uninjured.

He studies the kid in the bed, there's really no reason to fire a dart at him. He's asleep and hasn't seen anything. He has nothing to do with anything. Mika knows it's just a tranquilizer, but the thought of firing on a kid twists his stomach, he never wants to be anything like Ferid.

The decision is taken out of his hands when Lacus abruptly shoves him and it takes all his restraint not to smack him. Lacus is glaring at him meaningfully and inclining his head towards the kid, but Mika can't bring himself to do it and just stares back. He can tell Lacus wants to cuss him out, but they're both extremely aware of Ferid listening in to anything they say and they can't afford to show any dissent.

Lacus gives him one last angry look before shooting the still form in the bed and dragging Mika from the room towards Rene who is in the doorway holding the box, also looking at Mika in disapproval. They can already see the flashing lights as they run out the back door towards where Ferid waits a few streets down.

Mika can feel Lacus' anger and even Rene's simmering annoyance as they run, but they pull it together before they reach him knowing Ferid will jump on any dissention they show.

Rene hands Ferid the box and he looks it over, opening a secret compartment and withdrawing a SD card. "My, seems Krul didn't have too much to worry about. You all didn't have any problems, it was fairly simple, but still." They sigh in relief. "I suppose I can tell her that you don't need a handler or…" Ferid catches Mika off guard and drags him into a tight hug burying Mika's face in his chest, "I could tell Krul that I think you need a little more time to make sure you're all fully ready and spend more time with my sweet Mikaela!"

"You better not," Mika growls out struggling to free himself from Ferid's tight grip. Fuck, why is Ferid always so annoyingly strong? "Let go of me!"

Ferid squeezes tighter, "Not when I've finally managed to catch you! You'll have to forgive me eventually Mikaela."

"I don't!"

"But...I could be persuaded to tell her you're all fine if Mika agrees to spend the day with me tomorrow." Mika wants to protest, he wants to protest so bad, but the looks Lacus and Rene are giving him make him feel guilty because he knows that the only reason they're even in this situation is his own fault and he's already dragging them down with him. It's only right that he tries to fix this.

"Fine."

Ferid lets go with a smug smile, wrapping an arm around Mika's waist giving him a pat on the ass that makes Mika want to rip Ferid's throat out, but he grits his teeth and bears it. He owes Lacus and Rene that much, they haven't ratted him out yet.

When they arrive at Ferid's annoyingly conspicuous and expensive convertible, Mika's forced to take shotgun for the ride back even though there's plenty of room in the back. Sorry Yuu-chan, I won't be at school tomorrow, he thinks resigning himself to the situation.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4.5

* * *

Mika reclines back against the bench, sipping his soda and watching Ferid harass all the park's employees by winning all the rigged games. He has no doubt that Ferid will try to foist all the prizes onto him in an attempt to curry favor. He should know by now that it won't work, but he never stops trying. Hence, the reason they're even at this amusement park.

When he'd met up with Ferid at the complex this morning, conveniently out of sight of Krul, all Ferid had said was "It's a surprise." But, it didn't really matter to Mika anyway, so he just went along with it and since then Ferid's been having a great time forcing Mika on all the rides with him and attempting to spoil him rotten he did when Mika was a child. When he was a child….Mika thinks back on his childhood and the events that led up to his complicated relationship with Ferid….

 _He'd been abandoned by his worthless parents at a young age and put in an orphanage. He never had any friends there, maybe it was his personality or maybe all the other kids there were just as miserable as he was. He had been there about two years and was eight when Krul showed up._

 _He didn't know what to make of the short woman with bright pink hair. She asked him lots of questions, about his parents, the orphanage, if he had any friends, and if he wanted to be adopted. He didn't want to be at the orphanage anymore and he wanted a loving family more than anything, but he was wary of being adopted and ending up in a situation similar to before._

 _However, it seemed like he answered Krul's questions satisfactorily because shortly after that she came back and announced she was adopting him. He was equal parts excited and nervous, but tried his best not to get his hopes up. He even asked why she was adopting him to save himself from any surprises farther down, but all she said was that he was a good choice and all she asked of him in return was his love, loyalty, and obedience. Back then, that didn't sound difficult at all and love was something he desperately wanted to give and receive._

 _So, he went with her and it was nice. She bought him lots of clothes and toys and he had warm filling meals every night. He even had two bedrooms, one at Krul's house and one at her work complex. In the beginning he never used the one at home much, he was always at the complex with Krul._

 _He didn't go to school either, she hired him personalized tutors for all academic subjects and multiple languages, even for things he didn't understand why he needed such as self defense, and shooting, but he didn't complain and gave her the obedience she asked for. She checked on him periodically, kept up with his progress, and they had dinner together most nights, but for the most part he was kept busy. He gradually began to realize that Krul was not going to be the warm loving family member he had hoped for._

 _It was about three months after he was adopted that one of Krul's coworkers returned from an overseas job he was on, this was Ferid of course. His first meeting with the man was when Ferid sought him out, wanting to meet Krul's new son. Ferid was eccentric and weird, but he didn't hesitate to sweep Mika up into a hug and introduce himself. That was the beginning._

 _Ferid told him he was an adorable little cherub angel come straight from heaven and always gave him lots of praise. Best of all, he gave affection freely, something Mika craved. So, of course it made sense Mika would get attached to Ferid. Krul was more and more busy with work and slowly Ferid began to watch over him and train him in addition to his tutors._

 _Whenever he did well, Ferid always rewarded him with hugs and kisses and then sometimes just hugs for no reason. He also would give Mika teddy bears in congratulations on some occasions, Ferid was really good at picking the best ones, perfect colors and always soft, softer than any toy he'd ever received, not that there were many of them before, either way he treasured them._

 _Mika was the happiest he'd ever been. Ferid always took him to interesting places: zoos, parks, wherever he felt like going that day. Mika thinks at that point, he may have loved Ferid more than Krul._

 _Then the other shoe dropped and he was slowly being introduced into the knowledge of just what kind of business Krul and Ferid were in. All those games of watching people without being seen, learning to always be aware of your surroundings, and how to get escape from situations started to make a lot more sense. They were not just games for Ferid to reward him with affection for. He was being trained._

 _Krul took him on his first killing job when he was 11, he wasn't required to participate, just observe and he got a taste of what he was expected to do. He was horrified and ended up locking himself in his room crying for hours afterward. Krul explained their business to him, but it was Ferid who comforted him._

 _She let him recover for a week or so before forcing him to observe another job, this continued on and on. He now realizes she was desensitizing him to killing. At that age, he couldn't force himself to be desensitized yet, but he did better at hiding his emotions after overhearing other employees mention he might be sent back if he couldn't adjust. Mika now knows that Krul would not have sent him back, but at that time he was terrified of losing Krul, Ferid, and the best home he'd ever had._

 _So, he still did as he was told, observed, and cried behind closed doors in hopes of staying with them. He'd been surpassing Krul's hopes in his training and that was mainly due to Ferid's additional guidance. The man was a hard trainer and pushed Mika to his limits, but he never ended the day without spending time with Mika no matter how good or bad he did._

 _It was the summer he turned 12 when Ferid took him to the park and pointed out a specific kid, a girl with brown hair and big brown eyes around his age. Ferid told him that he thought they would be good friends and that Mika should get to know her well. Ferid was right, he and Akane did get along well. They played together at the park a lot and Ferid would take them places. Mika was ecstatic, he'd never had a best friend before and he figured if this wasn't it, it was pretty close._

 _They spent a lot of time together that summer and Krul seemed to be pleased he'd made such a close friend, always asking him questions about Akane and her family. Eventually Mika found out her father was an important politician and that's why he was never around much._

 _After a while, she began to invite him over sometimes and that's apparently what Ferid had been waiting for, for the time when Mika was welcome and Ferid was familiar and that's when disaster struck. It was an ordinary day that Mika was at her house visiting, the only unusual thing was that her father was actually home. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Ferid had slipped a remote activated disrupter into his bag before he left._

 _Shortly before Ferid came to pick him up, it was activated. Mika had no clue what was going on when everyone suddenly got tense and they were ushered into a room with her parents. When Ferid came to get him, he was a familiar face and they quickly let him in to get Mika so they could resume full lockdown. That was their mistake. Once inside the room, he shot everyone dead except Akane who was hiding behind him._

" _Step aside Mika."_

" _No! Ferid, what are you doing?!"_

" _What I was hired to do, kill the politician. Now, step aside, so I can kill her and we can go home."_

" _No!" Mika clung to her and refused to let go, "She didn't do anything!"_

" _She's seen my face."_

" _So have the guards outside!"_

" _They've been taken care of by another team."_

" _She won't tell anyone, Ferid, I promise! Please don't kill her," Mika begged._

" _Mikaela, we really don't have time for this. I have a schedule to keep, you've done your part, now this is over."_

" _My part?"_

" _Yes, gaining their trust. Didn't you know this was just a job?"_

" _No," Mika's eyes were filled with tears, "you said we'd make good friends."_

 _Ferid shook his head, "I thought Krul told you. In any case, move."_

" _No," Mika's eyes hardened, despite being wrong about Ferid's true personality, he didn't think Ferid would ever kill him. "You'll have to kill me if you want her."_

 _And he was right, Ferid wouldn't. "Mika, you know I won't do that." Ferid grabbed Mika and forced them apart and even with all his training, Ferid was too strong. He held Mika back with one arm and shot his best friend with the other. Mika felt all feeling drain from his body when he felt her blood hit his face. Ferid looked down at him, "Krul will be disappointed with you. Let's go."_

" _I'm not going anywhere with you."_

 _Ferid clicked his tongue, "Don't be a child. These things happen."_

" _You're crazy."_

" _Hmm, well, that wasn't your opinion of me 5 minutes ago, you loved me."_

" _I hate you."_

" _We can talk about that later." Ferid grabbed him by his arm and dragged Mika from the room. Mika had flailed and screamed, ignoring Ferid's attempts to get him to stop before he felt something hit his neck and blacked out._

 _~~~~~  
When he woke, they were already back at the complex and Ferid was carrying him. Looking up at Ferid, he no longer felt love anymore, just betrayal and hate. When Ferid put him down, he ran directly to Krul, to cry his eyes out in her lap. He cried for the loss of affection, for the loss of his best friend, and the loss of the comfort he once felt here. _

_He felt Krul stroking his hair, attempting to console him, "What did you do to my son, Ferid?"_

" _He's upset because he saw me kill the girl. Didn't you tell him this was just a job?"_

" _No, I thought he would do better if he didn't know. I didn't expect you to kill her in front of him," Krul paused, "Is this her blood?"_

" _Probably."_

 _Krul sighed, "You're terrible, Ferid."_

" _I was just following orders. Come on Mikaela, let's get you cleaned up and we can get a new teddy bear," Ferid attempted to bribe him._

 _Mika stopped crying long enough to spit out, "Don't ever touch me again."_

" _Ah, that's harsh! You can't really feel that way, I'm your favorite!" Mika ignored him and buried his face in Krul's lap again._

" _It's fine, I'll take care of him."_

" _I'm hurt," Ferid said in an affronted tone, "he loves me."_

" _I'm sure he's still in shock. We'll see you later," Krul said pointedly. Ferid gave one last look to Mikaela before leaving. "Mika, you okay?" He shook his head in response. Krul sighed and picked him up, "Let's get you to bed." After he was cleaned up and changed, Mika remembers lying in bed and pretending to be asleep so Krul would leave, then he cried until he was out of tears. That was the last day he ever willingly had anything to do with Ferid._

Mika sighs and pulls himself back from the past, there's no point focusing on it. But as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and Mikaela had definitely learned from that experience. He would never let Ferid anywhere near Yuu.

~~~~~  
 _Krul had stood in his doorway watching his tear streaked face as he stopped pretending and finally slept, she whispered, "I'm sorry Mikaela, it had to be done. How could I trust you completely if your heart was divided in two."_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

* * *

Yuu studies the castle between them, they've been working on it for a while now and it's coming along well, Mika comes by often after school to work on it. Well, as often as possible for him anyway. Yuu doesn't know what it is, but Mika seems to always be busy with family related things. He's questioned him a few times, but Mika's always evasive and tells him it's nothing important. But, he's accepted that Mika doesn't always show up when he says he'll be there. Yuu guesses he never paid enough attention to Mika before to know if he was absent a lot or if this is a recent development.

Also, if he hadn't known before, he now realizes that Mika is a huge flirt and it's the easiest way for him to derail Yuu's train of thought. Another reason he hasn't been able to get a straight answer out of Mika. He eyes Mikaela, who's giving him a mischievous smile from across the table, he may not like his evasiveness, but he's not completely averse to his methods of distraction.

Mika nudges him under the table, "Like what you see?" He asks with raised eyebrows.

"Ugh, shut up Mika," Yuu replies, not that it discourages him in the slightest, Mika's already crawling towards him. "We're supposed to be working on the project."

"We did." Mika forces down and lays next to him, wrapping arms around his waist and pulling him close.

Why did Mika always make him such a pushover or hell, maybe he's just easily distracted. He hears Mika humming in contentment and really the guy is such a cuddler. Yuu's not sure if he's like that with his other friends too or if it's just him, but Mika always finds some way to end up wrapped around him when they're alone.

It was a little weird at first, but Yuu's kind of gotten used to it now. He figures it's just how Mika is, the affectionate sort. He sighs and turns to face Mika. Mika's giving him that look again. That intense, yet soft gaze as if he's the only person in the world who matters. Yuu feels himself flushing, he never knows what to do with that gaze and Mika doesn't help either, being the king of mixed signals.

His affection with Yuu never changes and he started to feel that Mika might like him, but Mika hasn't ever pressed it or shown any inclination that he wants to move past being friends. So, Yuu's only left with the thought that maybe he just wanted a...cuddle buddy? He honestly has no clue what goes through Mika's head. He doesn't think he'd mind being more if it was Mika, but since he's not exactly experienced with relationships either, they're at a standstill.

Mika leans forward to press his forehead against Yuu's, "You ready for rock climbing tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"It'll be fun, me and you can go on the easy path, so no worries, okay?"

"If you say so."

"I do. Trust me, I'll be there with you." Mika's so close Yuu can feel the warmth of his mouth against his own. His heart speeds up wondering if Mika is about to kiss him, but he pulls away. Yuu internally groans, King of Mixed Signals. "I'll see you tomorrow Yuu-chan, be ready!"

~~~~~  
"You brought your boyfriend, Mika!" Yuu hears Lacus shout as they approach. He's not Mika's boyfriend and he has yet to get used to Lacus calling him that. Yuu doesn't even know why he does it, Mika probably knows though, more mixed signals he doesn't understand. "Has he ever rock climbed?

"No, but it's fine. We're taking the easy path. So, we'll see you at the top." Lacus rolls his eyes and drags Rene, who nods in greeting, farther away to a higher difficulty path. Mika turns to Yuu and makes the final adjustments on his harness before clipping him onto the rope. "I'll be right here with you and if you fall the rope will catch you."

Yuu gives a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, but still let's hope I don't."

Mika gives his arm a squeeze, "It's only about 90 minutes and after lunch, we can take the trail down in you want."

Yuuichirou nods and stares up at the rock face, it looks daunting. Mika said they'd do the easy route, but Yuu has a feeling the easy route won't be "easy." Yuu pulls his harness a little tighter and wonders if it's too late to back out of this. Mika finds a hand hold and pulls himself up, "Just like a rock climbing wall."

~~~~~  
He's not sure how long they've been out here, but Yuu is already damp from sweat and his fingers are beginning to feel sore from constantly pulling himself up. Mika, on the other hand, doesn't look winded at all. Even climbing at a leisurely pace with frequent stops for Yuu to catch up, he's still a bit farther up. Yuu can see him a few feet up waiting for him, blonde hair blowing in the breeze. His hair isn't stuck to his head with sweat, Yuu notes with a bit of envy.

When he's finally level with Mika, he leans against the rock face to stretch his fingers one by one. If he didn't have gloves on, Yuu's pretty sure his fingers would be covered in cuts. Mika swings close to him and grabs hold of his rope, pulling him closer, "You okay?"

"Yeah as long as I don't look down. My fingers are just a little sore."

Mika nods in sympathy, "A little farther up, we'll be about halfway and there's a plateau if you wanna take a break."

"Yes!"

Mika laughs, "We've only been out here about an hour."

"Longer than I've ever done!" Yuu follows Mika farther up until they reach the aforementioned plateau. Yuu hauls himself onto the edge, dumps his backpack and collapses. Mika unclips himself and throws himself across Yuu's lap.

"Mika, it's too hot!" Yuu protests shoving at his shoulder.

"It's never too hot for this."

"It is! I'm all sweaty."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"Then get off."

"I don't mind." Mika rolls over onto his back to look up at Yuu and smile. Yuu can't help but smile back despite himself. Mika stands up and reaches down a hand to Yuu, "Come on, let's go." Yuu looks up at Mika and is startled by how angelic he looks. The sun is behind him reflecting off his blonde hair and the light makes his smile even more radiant, Yuu feels his heartbeat pick up. This is a new development, since when did Mika make his heart pound?

Yuu grasps his hand and lets himself be pulled up, but instead of letting go, Mika intertwines their fingers and pulls him along, which does nothing to slow down his heart. Mika leads him to a trail partially hidden by bushes and farther into the trees. He doesn't see any directional markers, but Mika seems to know where they're going. They end up in a shaded area surrounding a shallow pool of water.

Yuu hops up on one of the protruding rocks, "Where are we?"

"Nowhere in particular. There's lots of these places to rest if you know where to look. I figured you'd want to get out of the sun," Mika smiles over at Yuu.

Yuu reaches up to touch Mika's cheek, it's smooth under his fingertips. Mikaela really is very attractive. "You're always smiling."

"Really?" Mika leans into his touch, "You're the only one who seems to think that."

Yuu frowns, "Then they must not see you enough."

Mikaela's smile falters and he moves forward to bury his face in Yuu's chest. Yuu can barely hear him mumble out, "Or maybe they see too much." Yuu places a hand on Mika's head and begins combing his fingers through his hair. He's not sure which part upset him, but it's clear he hit a sore spot for Mika.

He muses on why that could be upsetting before Mika pulls away and tells him they should probably head back up. They return back to the plateau where Yuu grabs his backpack and they start back up the rock face, somehow it's harder now than before.

Eventually, they make it to the top and Yuu is relieved, he doesn't think his fingers could take much more abuse. He's never thought about doing something like that before, he only accepted to spend more time with Mika. Yuu unbuckles his harness and looks over at Mikaela to see him patting the spot beside him. He collapses next to him and accepts the bottle of water he's offered.

"How are you guys so fast at that?"

"The better question is how are you so slow," Lacus responds. "You were on the beginner path."

Yuu glares, "Sorry some of us don't make it a habit to climb mountains."

"It's fine, Yuu-chan," Mika interrupts with a look at Lacus. "We just do different things in our free time, it's good for us, so we've gotten pretty adept at it over the years. It just takes practice, Lacus couldn't even do the easy one in the beginning either."

Mika stabs a strawberry with a fork and brings it to Yuu's mouth, "Try it." Yuu opens his mouth to accept it.

"Oh wow, those are really good." Mika beams.

"You look so proud….like you actually grew them."

"No one asked you, Rene," Mika says feeding Yuu another strawberry with a smile. "I got them from a farmer's market."

"They are tasty," Yuu opens his mouth to accept another one. "Ooo, I should've got this kind for my cake."

"If you ever want another one, I'd use them this time." Yuu hums in assent.

Lacus grabs the fork from Mika's hand and eats the next strawberry himself. "Jeez you two, cut it out. Let him feed himself, Mika."

Mika gives him an annoyed look, "No one here cares but you."

"Just leave them alone, Lacus. You know Mikaela has a lot of pent up emotions," Rene states.

Mika flushes and Yuu looks over at him in curiosity. "That _is_ true," Lacus smirks, "even though he really should reign it."

"Whatever! I'm starving," Mika abruptly changes the subject reaching into his bag for a protein bar. That's interesting, Yuu thinks. He's never made Mikaela blush before.

Yuu leans a bit closer and whispers in his ear, "What's pent up, Mikaela?" The reaction is instantaneous. Mika freezes and his face turns red. Yuu can't help but laugh, "That much, huh?"

"No! I just...ignore them."

"But, I'm _really_ curious." Mikaela inches away and Yuu's internally laughing, he can't let this golden opportunity to turn the tables on Mika pass by. Yuu squeezes his arm, "You can tell me," he says softly in his ear. That does it, Mika pulls away and before Yuu can blink, he's five feet away giving Lacus and Rene a furious look. However, they're both giving Yuu impressed looks, he's kind of surprised himself, but hey he is learning from the best. Yuu holds up his hands in surrender, "Okay, you don't have to tell me."

Mika reluctantly takes his seat again, steadfastly ignoring Lacus and Rene's smirks. They finish eating and stretch. Yuu would like to rest more, but apparently his slow pace took longer than they anticipated and they have to get back home. "Mika...I don't know if I'll be able to spend two hours climbing back down."

"Don't worry, Yuu-chan, going down is the easy part. You don't have to climb, you just rappel."

That seems easy enough. Once he's buckled back in, he follows Mika's example. This time, it actually is as easy as Mika makes it look. They make it back to the ground in no time, say goodbye to Lacus and Rene, and head to Yuu's house.

By the time they make it back to Yuu's house, he's half asleep in his seat and Mika's giving him another indecipherable look. One part reluctance and another part that Yuu can't quite identify, but that makes him nervous for some reason.

Mika's conflicted expression changes into a smile when he notices Yuu's fully awake, "We're here, Yuu-chan."

"I noticed."

"Yet, you're still here. You want to stay with me longer?"

"No! I mean yeah, I mean...that's not why I'm still here."

"Uh huh." Yuu unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out the car before saying goodbye.

"I'll see you around." And Yuu knows that's the truth because he never counts on seeing Mika two days in a row anymore.

~~~~~  
It's been a few days since rock climbing and Yuu is still sore. His friends commented on his stiffness and Yuu made up some bullshit excuse about hurting himself helping Guren move a bed to avoid conflict, but he doesn't think anyone least of all Shinoa bought it. Fortunately Mika's taking pity on him, as he should since it was his idea. Yuu's lying on his stomach, head resting on his folded arms while Mika straddles his waist gently massaging his back. "Lower," Yuu demands.

"You're so spoiled, Yuu-chan."

"Hey, I only went because you invited me _and_ you offered this massage."

"I didn't know rock climbing would be so hard on you," he teases.

"Well it was. _Lower,_ " Yuu wriggles his hips to emphasize his point. Mika moves his hands farther down kneading harder, eliciting a shamelessly satisfied groan from Yuu. Mika fights down his blush and shakes his head at Yuu's content expression.

A throat clears, "Am I interrupting something?" Yuu's head whips around, seeing a smirking Shinya in the doorway. He tries to sit up, but Mika's hands on his back are keeping him down.

"W-what are you doing here, Shinya?"

"Guren sent me over to get this file for him," he answers waving the manila folder. "Sorry if I interrupted something," Shinya says, smirk still firmly in place.

"You didn't! We're just working on our art project."

Shinya raises an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes! Mika this is Shinya, Guren's coworker. Shinya, this is Mikaela."

"Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you too, Mikaela." Shinya cocks his head slightly, Mikaela looks vaguely familiar, but he can't quite place him. "I'll let myself out." He pauses, "I'll be sure to let Guren know you have a friend over, so you can work on your 'art project' without any more interruptions."

"Ugh, go away Shinya." Once he hears the door shut, Yuu closes his eyes in mild embarrassment. "Gah!" Yuu shouts jolting upwards when Mika slips his hands under Yuu's shirt to knead into the curve of his back, a little closer to his ass than he expected. He quickly scoots from between Mika's legs and turns to face him. "We should uh probably get back to the p-project."

Mika smiles, "If you want to."

Yuu resumes his position at the table and begins molding clay to keep his mind focused, Mika really is too much sometimes. "Hey Yuu-chan, you're pulverizing that clay not shaping it!"

Yuu looks down at his hands, Mika's right, he was so focused on blocking out the feel of Mika's hands on his skin that he stopped paying attention. "Let me help you."

Mika moves to his side and leans over to help him reshape the clay. Mika doesn't seem to mind being pressed against him, even though it would be easier to just take it. He looks over at Mika and he seems to be completely absorbed in fixing Yuu's mistake and explaining what they still have to do. At least that's what Yuu thought until he suddenly feels a warm mouth on his own, soft lips pressing firmly into his, moving gently against his mouth.

It takes Yuu a minute to realize, then actually register that Mika's kissing him. By the time he does, Mika's already pulled away and back to working on the project. Yuu wouldn't be positive it actually happened if it wasn't for the light blush decorating Mika's cheeks, the only indication that it wasn't Yuu's imagination. And it wasn't a shy peck on the lips either, Mika really _kissed_ him.

Yuu doesn't know what to make of that, when he expected a kiss, nothing happened. Then, when he wasn't expecting it, Mika sprung one on him. By the way, he's diligently working on the castle and avoiding eye contact, Mika's probably hoping not to talk about it. One day Yuu's going to figure out what's up with Mika, just maybe not today. Today, he's had enough confusion.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

* * *

 **[idk Shinoa, i haven't even thought about it]**

 **[but you are going, right?]**

 **[don't really have a choice, you already had guren pay for it]**

 **[: ) you were gonna go anyway]**

 **[probably but still, i didnt even tell him]**

 **[well yuu, i know deadlines mean nothing to you and I didnt want you to miss out or be stuck at home alone cause you missed it]**

 **[...somehow I doubt that was your actual reasoning]**

 **[maybe it was, maybe it wasn't]**

 **[whatever shinoa, see you]**

Yuuichirou tosses his phone aside and stretches. The school camping trip was coming up and Shinoa had already roped him into it. He would probably have gone regardless, but still it was completely unnecessary to have Shinya make sure Guren paid for it, so he would have no choice but to go. A little underhanded if you asked him, but he can't say he's surprised.

Yuu wonders if Mika's going, it's outdoors, but it still doesn't seem like the kind of thing he'd be interested in. But if Yuu is stuck going, it'd be even better if Mika was going too, as long as he doesn't try anything funny around everyone, that's embarrassment he could do without. Yuu grabs his phone and types out a quick text.

 **[hey mika, are you going on the trip?]**

 **[nah, not interested]**

 **[ : ( why?]**

 **[i have other things i could do, plus lacus and rene aren't going]**

 **[i'm going]**

 **[now you can't spend the weekend with me]**

 **[huh?]**

 **[if all your friends were on the trip, you could have]**

 **[or you could go even if lacus and rene don't]**

 **[not a chance, have fun yuuchan ; ) ]**

Yuu falls back on the couch, so he was right, Mika didn't plan going, but maybe just maybe he could convince him to sign up without them. Speaking of Mika, he hasn't acknowledged that kiss or said anything about it, nor has he made another move. He's not sure if Mikaela regrets it or if he's leaving the next step up to Yuu cause he's not sure what exactly he should do. If he can get Mikaela to go on this trip, Yuu promises himself he'll get a straight answer from him, no more mixed signals.

~~~~~  
"Yuu, are you still going for dinner with us tonight?" Yoichi questions him on his way out the classroom.

"Yeah! I just have to do something real fast. I'll catch up to you guys in a second."

"Okay, we'll be waiting in the parking lot."

Yuu hurries out the door and spots Mika heading towards the exit. Yuu speeds up to corner Mika before he reaches the exit, "Mika!"

"Hey, Yuu-chan, what's up?" He's a little surprised Yuu is seeking him out at school, but it's a nice change.

"So...about the camping trip?"

"Yuu-chan..."

"Wait! Before you say no, it's better than being at school."

"We'll probably skip anyway."

"You like the outdoors," Yuu points out.

"I don't need to go camping to enjoy the outdoors," Mika counters.

"It'll be fun too!"

"Then you can have fun with your friends."

Yuu internally groans in frustration, this isn't working, time to switch tactics. Hmm, he's got an idea. Yuu steps forward, "But, I _really_ want to have fun with you too Mika." He wraps his arms around Mika's neck, pulling him closer and staring him in the eye, " _Please_ Mikaela?"

"Uh..I.." Mika's trying to think, but with those sad emerald eyes staring at him so intensely, all he can focus on is making Yuu happy. "...Fine."

Yuu's eyes light up and he lets go to celebrate, "Thanks Mika! You're the best, it'll be fun!"

Mika narrows his eyes at Yuu, "You're manipulative."

"I am not!" Yuu looks affronted.

"You are and I'll get payback for it."

"Mika! Ah, don't be like that!"

"Too late, see you later Yuu-chan."

Shinoa appears by his side as Mika walks off and groans, "You invited him? You may as well have just stayed here with him."

"I knew you had an ulterior motive to make sure I came on the trip."

"So, what if I did? You wanted to come anyway." Yuu just shakes his head. "Whatever, let's go. The others are waiting and Mitsuba's getting hungry."

~~~~~  
Mika gets in his car and rolls his eyes in aggravation. He shouldn't have let Yuu manipulate him like that, if he did it once, he'll probably do it again and next time it might not be something as trivial as a field trip. Which is actually pretty annoying because now he'll have to bribe Lacus and Rene into going with him and they're not exactly happy with him right now, but there's no way in hell he's going on that trip alone, not even for Yuuichirou.

He arrives at the entertainment center a short while later, it's some hybrid bowling/food/game center that Lacus wanted to go to and Mika didn't have anything better to do. He takes a seat at the table they've already occupied and grabs a menu.

"What is it?" Rene asked immediately.

"Huh?"

"You've got that blank look on your face, you only do that around us when you're anxious about something."

Lacus drops his menu, "Oh no, what did you do this time Mika?"

"Nothing! I mean, I just agreed to go on the camping trip for Yuu-chan…"

"Hah! Have fun with that! I doubt his friends are going to welcome you with open arms and you don't talk to anyone else." Lacus laughs, "What have you gotten yourself into? And imagine, sharing a tent with them!" Mika gazes at him silently. "Not a chance."

"It's not like you have anything to do anyway, I know you don't."

"I'm not spending my weekend sleeping on the ground and mingling with the plebs."

"You're such a rich kid."

"And I don't mind it either. Don't act like you're not, you're probably only going because Yuuichirou used his big green eyes on you." Mika feels himself color, that's exactly what happened. "I knew it! You dug yourself your own hole."

Mika turns pleading eyes to Rene, "Rene?"

Rene looks considering for a moment, "What will you give me for it?"

"Rene!"

"Whatever you want," Mika answers immediately.

"I want...you to cut off all contact with Yuuichirou the following week"

"What! Why?!"

"Because, since you seem to have forgotten, we have a major job coming up and I don't trust you not to make a mistake. We're still under watch after your last discrepancies. We don't want you taking us down with you."

Mika opens his mouth to protest, but Lacus beats him to it, "It's that or nothing, Mika. I agree completely with Rene."

"How am I supposed to explain that?"

"Not our problem."

Mika sighs, he supposes he can just make up another family excuse, that should be halfway believable. "Fine."

"Well, unfortunately it looks like you've got yourself two camping buddies."

"Thanks guys."

"Yeah, yeah, we know we do a lot for you." He turns to Rene, "Let's get one of those giant tents with a living room!"

"We'll only be there a few nights…"

"Might as well be comfortable. Oh I can bring my portable DVD player too!"

Mika rolls his eyes at Lacus' enthusiasm, he's pretty sure that's not what the trip is supposed to be about, but he's also counting his blessings that they agreed, even if it was conditionally. Once the food arrives, Rene stops bothering to even pretend he's listening and Lacus finally stops listing everything he's going to bring.

After they eat, they head over to laser tag and it's one of the rare times their two lives mix. It starts off fine, they're winning and everything is normal until one of the players hits Rene in the back with the butt of his laser gun and Mika and Lacus are there instantly. Rene may not have a temper, but he has no qualms about calmly strangling someone to death if no one stops him.

"That's not how you play the game."

Instead of replying to Rene, he turns to Lacus, "You're the guy who came after me, then beat up my friend and ran off."

"...I don't recall."

"After you beat him up, you gagged him, you tied him to a pole while I watched."

"Oh. I remember that."

"Lacus! We're not street fighters!"

"I was having a bad day, okay Mika. He started it."

"Who cares," the guy mutters before slamming the gun back into Rene's back.

"Fuck," Rene's voice comes out strained from the pulsing pain in his back.

Mika shoves the guy back and Lacus points a threatening finger at him, "We'll see you outside." They quickly make their way to the exit and strip off the equipment. "That asshole, I bet he doesn't show. Where were the employees, aren't they supposed to be watching?!"

"Of course he's not going to come out, there's three of us and don't blame the employees. This was all your fault."

"Oh I see how it is Mika, we protect you, but you throw me under the bus."

"That's totally different-"

"There he is, grab him!"

"What? No way!" Mika protests a little too late, they've already grabbed him and dragged him out the door. Mika glances surreptitiously to make sure no one saw before following them out.

"You stand guard, Mika!" He doesn't agree with this at all, but he leans against the wall and does his best to tune them out.

~~~~~  
Yuu covers his food from Shinoa's searching hands, she has her own food, why does she insist on bothering him. He swats Shinoa's fingers away from his pepperonis and looks up just in time to see a blonde head slipping out of a side door. Mika? What's he doing here? Without a word to his friends or another thought to his pizza, Yuu follows after him.

He steps out the door to see Mika leaning against the wall looking bored and what looks and sounds like a two on one fight going on behind him. "Mika?" Mika whips around and Yuu sees his eyes widen in shock.

"Yuu-chan! What are you doing here?!" He glances back over his shoulder before hurrying towards Yuu. Mika grabs him by the shoulders and begins pushing him back towards the front of the building, but Yuu isn't going to make it easy.

He plants his feet on the ground so Mika is practically dragging him, "What are they doing? Shouldn't we go help that guy?"

"No no, it's fine, come on. They're just messing around."

"No they're not Mika, they were beating the shit out of that guy! Why don't you want to help him?"

Mika sighs, Yuu is making this so difficult, that stubborn personality of his. But, this is not something he should get involved in, the faster they're away the better. Mika catches Yuu off guard, scooping him up and increasing his pace, ignoring Yuu's flailing and demands to be put down. Mika sets him back down when they're near the front.

"What the hell was that Mika?!"

"I told you it was nothing important, let them work it out."

"I'm not going to just let them double team that guy," Yuu protests. He goes to move past Mika and Mika grabs his wrist in an iron grip.

"Yuu-chan. Leave it alone." And there's something in his voice that Yuu has never heard before, Mika has never talked to him like that. His voice was always happier and lighter, but now it's sharper and forceful. Yuu didn't even know Mikaela was capable of speaking like that. It's such a contrast from his usual personality and it sets Yuu on edge. Has he been fooled all along? Is this what Mikaela's really like?

Mika interprets the fact that he's stopped struggling as defeat rather than the surprise it is. Mika lets go of his wrist and takes him by the shoulders again, pushing him towards the entrance, "Who are you here with?"

"My friends," Yuu mumbles.

"Good, let's go back inside. We can go sit with them." Mika guides Yuu back to his friends and forces him into a seat, taking the one next to him. Mika pretends he doesn't see the surprised and wary looks from Yuu's friends and greets them with a smile while Yuu is silently brooding beside him. He's no longer holding onto Yuu's shoulders anymore, but his hand has dropped to Yuu's forearm beneath the table, slowly massaging it, Mika's way of being discreet and still keeping a grip on Yuuichirou.

Yoichi, ever the kind one, strikes up a conversation with Mika that he goes along with. It's enough to dispel some of the awkward atmosphere at the table, although Shinoa is giving him a smug look, so clearly she can tell there's tension, but Yuu won't give her the satisfaction of being right.

"I bet that would look good on you," Yuu hears Mika say and looks over to where Yoichi's showing Mika something on his phone. Mika's smiling at him and Yoichi's looking a bit flustered and Yuu can't believe it. Is Mika actually flirting with Yoichi right in front of him? And after what just happened?

"Stop flirting with Yoichi."

"Why? He's cute," Mika teases. Despite everything, Yuu still feels a pang of jealousy.

"Because you're no good for him." Mika's smile turns a little forced and his brilliant blue eyes dim.

"Ouch, Yuu-chan, that hurts," he says with a forced laugh. "But it's okay, I understand if you want me all to yourself."

Yuu glowers, "That's not what I meant and you know it."

Mika is saved from replying when Lacus and Rene approach the table and ask to speak with Mika. He nods before giving Yuu a light kiss on the shell of his ear. "I'll be right back." Yuu can't help but think there's an unspoken warning in there. He watches Mika walk off and looks back to his friends who, of course, are all staring at him.

"So, kisses huh?" Shinoa questions staring him down.

"They don't mean anything, he's just affectionate."

"Affectionate, but still no good? Looks like someone is finally wising up."

"Are you talking about how bad Mika supposedly is?" Kimizuki interrupts.

"Yeah, I don't know how, but Yuu's finally starting to get it."

"I haven't seen anything, but if he is, does that mean we finally don't have to listen to you bitch about him anymore. I'm probably more sick of it than Yuu is."

Shinoa ignores him. This is perfect, if Yuu can realize Mika's trouble by himself, she won't have to worry about warning him. She's already walking a fine line as it is. "What happened, Yuu?"

"Nothing happened."

"You're lying. You're too annoyed with him for it to be nothing." Yuu shrugs.

"No, he's right Shinoa," Mika replies returning to sit next to Yuu. "It was just an argument, it'll pass."

"Where'd they go?" Yuu asks.

"They got bored and went home."

Yuu nods, if Lacus and Rene are gone, then that means they probably left the guy out there. There's no way Yuu is going to pretend he didn't see it. When he manages to sneak away from Mika, he's going to check on the guy, he'll probably have to call 911 considering how long they were out there. Mika might be pissed at him later for going back, but he's not leaving him there with no help.

Yuu waits a few minutes before announcing he's going to the bathroom and climbing over Mika to get out of the booth. He heads to the bathroom before slipping away and going out the side door. Just as he thought, a few feet up hidden halfway behind a dumpster, so you'd have to look to see him is a guy. They really did just leave him there, he never thought they were that callous.

Yuu leans down to prod the guy. His face is a mess of cuts and bruises and he's unconscious. Yuu jabs him again, "Hey wake up, you need to get some help." There's no response, so he continues to shake the guy until he finds himself on the receiving end of a punch.

Yuu loses his balance and hits the ground, looking up to see two guys in dark clothing standing over him, one holding a knife. "What the hell is your problem?"

"We should be asking you that. What'd you do to him?"

"Nothing, I was trying to wake him up to help!" Yuu stands up, but is promptly shoved back down. This isn't looking good, he may have to fight his way out of here, but that knife gives them an advantage.

"Right, then how'd you know he was out here?"

"I...uh…" Shit, he can't say what really happened, that'll make him look bad too and implicate Mika.

"That's what we thought." Yuu stands up and prepares to get through them, even if it costs him a stab wound.

He doesn't even get to land a punch before Mika is between them, wrenching the knife out the guy's hand and stabbing him into the side of the building. Yuu's eyes widen in shock when Mika pulls the knife out and stabs the other male too, taking him to the ground. Mika quickly stands up and grabs Yuu's arm hauling him away.

"Mika, what the hell was that?!"

"That? Me saving you from getting your ass kicked."

"You stabbed them!"

"So what? They were going to stab you. Walk faster."

"Where are we even going?"

"I'm taking you home."

Yuu tries to resist, but Mika really is absurdly strong. Where's he hiding those muscles? Maybe Yuu should have paid closer attention all those times Mika was cuddling with him. "What about my friends?"

"You can text them in the car, tell them something came up. I don't think you want to be around when someone finds them."

Yuu concedes the point and reluctantly gets in Mika's car, it's silent the whole way to his house. When they finally arrive, Mika cuts off the ignition and they sit in silence. "Mika.." Yuu begins.

"Don't. Why did you go back out there? Why couldn't you just listen?"

"I wasn't going to just leave him for dead like your friends did!"

"And that almost got you left for dead! Why were you even out there?"

"I saw you and I came after you."

Mika sighs and lets it head fall on the steering wheel, so it was his fault. Yuu would never have been out there if he hadn't seen Mika. He's so selfish, he's already dragging the people around him down with him.

"Mika? Are you going to tell me why they did that?"

"No."

"No? Your friends just beat the shit out of someone and left them and you're acting like you don't care."

"I don't."

"Mika!"

Mika gets out of the car and heads to Yuu's front door, Yuu follows after him fuming, what the hell is wrong with him. He unlocks the door and Mika immediately goes to the kitchen to fix him an ice pack. He presses it against Yuu's swollen cheek and Yuu smacks his hand away stepping back, holding the ice pack. "I can hold it myself, you can leave me here too, don't feel bad."

Mika studies him before gesturing to him, "Come here Yuu-chan."

"Nope."

Mika steps forward and Yuu backs farther away throwing the ice pack at him which he easily catches. Yuu has learned from experience that once Mika gets a hold on him, he won't let go until he's good and ready. Last time, he ended up curled up with Mika for hours. Yuu runs up the stairs with Mika hot on his heels. He doesn't make it to his room fast enough to shut the door, so instead opts to jump on his bed and wrap himself in his comforter.

He feels Mika take a seat on the bed and attempt to force the covers down before eventually giving up and rolling on top of Yuu. "Are you mad at me?"

"Yes!" Yuu's muffled voice comes from under the covers.

"Please don't be mad Yuu-chan. I'm sorry, but you just don't understand."

"Then tell me."

"I can't." Yuu pulls the comforter tighter around himself. He feels Mikaela's arms circle around him and no more words are spoken. At some point he must've fallen asleep because when he wakes up Mika's long gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

* * *

Yuu can't keep himself from glancing across the aisle where Mikaela is sleeping with his head resting on a pillow. He wants to go talk to him, but they ended on a bad note last time and they haven't talked since. He's actually shocked Mika still came, he thought for sure he'd bail.

Ugh, it's too early for this, the sun isn't even out yet. The drive is several hours, so they had to get an early start and Yuu would much rather be asleep. Shinoa and the others are, but this trip is a few days and he's just too wired thinking about how to handle the Mika situation to sleep. He did convince him to come after all, he can't avoid him the whole time.

Mika kissed him again that night, granted it was on the ear, but he's sure he has feelings for him now. But, he's not what he seems either. Yuu has a feeling Mika may be mixed up with something bad, but if Mika won't say anything, how is he supposed to help him. It doesn't seem like anyone else cares, so if Yuu doesn't try to help him, who knows what may happen and the fact is, that Yuu _does_ cares. The only way for him to be let in is to reach back out and Yuu's not exactly sure how he feels about that at the moment.

"Hey Mika, wake up," Lacus says nudging MIka awake.

"What," Mika practically growls. He is not a morning person.

"Your boyfriend wants to sit with you, he's been watching you for like the past fifteen minutes. I think he was too scared to wake you up." Mikaela follows Lacus' gaze over to Yuuichirou who hastily turns away when he realizes he's been caught.

"Yuu-chan, come here," Mika pats the seat next to him, "I don't bite….yet."

"I'm fine. I just wanted to say hey."

"Well come say hey then."

"I can do that from over here."

"I will drag you over here, don't think I won't, you know I will. Especially since Lacus woke me up."

Yuu gives him a flat look, "Maybe you should all learn to keep your hands to yourself."

"Fine," Mika turns away, "suit yourself."

"Oooh, is that trouble in paradise, Mika?"

Mika ignores him and closes his eyes, it's too early for this.

Yuu clenches his fists in frustration, that's not how that was supposed to go, he's trying to make up with Mika not push him farther away. At this rate, Mika won't ever trust him with anything. Yuu slouches in his seat, he has to do better.

Unfortunately he doesn't get a chance to talk to Mika again for a while, he sleeps the whole way there and when they arrive at the site, they're immediately divided to set up and get familiar with the area. After that, ground rules are laid out and they're given the day's schedule. Mika ends up being in his group, but he won't even look in Yuu's direction. He stays close to Lacus and Rene who also seem to be content pretending he doesn't exist.

Shinoa's constant smirking isn't helping either. This was supposed to be fun and he's not enjoying it at all. In fact, he'd rather be rock climbing, at least then they were still on speaking terms. Around lunchtime, he finally approaches Mika, "Can I talk to you?"

"No."

"Mika, come on, don't be like that."

Mika still won't look at him and he hates that, "I'm not any good for you, Yuu-chan. Just go back over there with your friends."

Yuu flinches, he gets it now. It's because of what he said a few days ago, Yuu knew the rumors, but never paid any mind to them and never treated Mika any different. But, when he said Mika was no good, he basically confirmed what everyone says about him and that he thought the same. He didn't really mean that though, he was just confused as to why Mika wouldn't help the guy, jealous that he was flirting with Yoichi, and angry that he didn't understand anything. "Mika, I…." But, he's already gone, running off to another part of the camp. Yuu clenches his fist and growls in frustration, he doesn't want to lose Mikaela like this.

"What'd you do, Yuuichirou?"

Yuu glances down at Lacus who looks completely serious for once, "Nothing."

"Oh, you did something. We haven't been able to get it out of him, but he really likes you. There's no way he'd act like that towards you over 'nothing'."

So, Mika hadn't told them what Yuu had seen, it's probably better that way. "It's between us."

"I don't care. He's our friend too, either fix it or stay away from him." Yuu's taken aback, seems Mika's a lot more similar to them than he thought, both giving those thinly veiled warnings, because he could clearly hear that unspoken "or else." He'd say something back to him, but that wouldn't really help his case plus with what he witnessed a few nights ago and the swelling on his face finally going down, he doesn't think he's up for a two on one fight with them and he would hope, but he's not positive, Mika would help him out this time.

Yuu wanders back over to his friends and takes a seat, he'll have to try again with Mika later.

"Did Mikaela just run away from you?" Mitsuba questions him curiously.

"No, he had to go do something," Yuu lies.

"So Lacus didn't look like he was willing to rip your head off?" Kimizuki smirks at him.

"No! We were just talking."

Shinoa shakes her at head at him, "I told you it was a bad idea to get mixed up with them."

"People argue all the time Shinoa. I can barely go a week without arguing with you."

"But you know now, don't you?" Shinoa presses him.

"I don't know anything. Hey, I think they're getting ready for canoeing, let's go!" Yuu abruptly changes the subject and takes off.

~~~~~  
They're wrapping up dinner and getting ready to light the campfire when Yuu finally decides to approach Mika again. He's thought about it and figured out how to put his feelings into words that don't come off too aggressive. He corners Mika near a cluster of trees at the edge of camp, he hopes cornering him in order for Mika to hear him out isn't going to start becoming a thing, because that's not a good sign.

He sees Mika tense up and blurts out a hurried, "I'm sorry" before he can get away. Mika's still tense, but doesn't move away, Yuu takes a breath. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I don't think you're bad, I was just mad about everything. I understand if there's things you can't tell me. It's okay." Mika gives him a wary look. "Seriously it's fine. I still like you and everything and we're still friends, if you want to be that is. I mean we kind of have to be, we are art partners," Yuu jokes.

Mika gives him a tentative smile that makes his heart skip a beat and Yuu lets out a small breath. "Though, I _am_ still a little mad at you for leaving that guy, but since I don't understand, I can't really hold it against you too much."

He nods, "I missed being with you, Yuu-chan."

"Yeah...I missed you too."

Mika gives him a bigger if still slightly tentative smile and takes his wrist loosely, almost as if he's afraid of being rejected, "Let's go to the fire, yeah?" Yuu nods and lets Mika lead him to a spot near the fire. Mika isn't holding his wrist anymore, but his hand has slipped down to rest on top of Yuu's as he listens to whatever story they're telling.

But, Yuu isn't paying any attention to it, he's slowly weaving his fingers between Mika's and marveling at how well their hands fit together when he notices Mikaela smiling at him. Yuu freezes and finally realizes what he's doing. He snatches his hand back and turns his burning face away. "It's okay Yuu-chan, you can hold my hand if you want," Mika teases wiggling his fingers at him.

"Shut up, I don't," Yuu mumbles even though he kind of does. He might still be a little angry with Mikaela, but Yuu can't deny the fact that he likes being close to him, now that he's gotten used to it.

"But, I want to hold your hand."

"Too bad," Yuu shrugs.

"I guess I'll hold you instead."

"Huh?" Mika grabs Yuu by the waist pulling him closer, tucking him into his side keeping a firm grip on Yuu's waist to keep him from squirming away.

"Yeah, this works too."

Yuu tenses and considers trying to get away, but what's the point? He already knows he likes Mikaela, so why deny himself the pleasure of being close to him. He relaxes into Mika and does his best to ignore the weird faces his friends are making at him.

After a while the stories wrap up, everyone prepares to turn in for the night, and Yuu finally extracts himself from Mikaela.

"Hey Yuu! You coming?" Kimizuki calls. "We won't let you in if you wait too late."

"I am, but uh…" Yuu gives a quick glance back to Mika, "I think I'll stay in Mika's tent."

" _You are?_ "

"Is that okay? You're not staying with Lacus and Rene, right?"

"I'm not, but I...just…"

"So, it's okay?" Yuu turns questioning green eyes on him.

"Yeah...it's fine."

"Okay, then I'm just gonna grab my stuff! Be right back!"

Mika is surprised, sure he was hoping Yuu would stay with him, that's why he brought his own tent just in case, but after this morning, he'd pretty much resigned himself to either sleep alone or go sleep in Lacus and Rene's tent, they had more than enough room.

However, this was a pleasant change of plans. He enters his tent, it's mildly spacious with extra pillows and blankets to combat the nighttime chill, and changes clothes while he waits for Yuu. Mika grabs one of his pillows and squeezes it, why is he so nervous? Probably because this is the first time he's stayed away from home with people other than those he's grown up around.

Mika jumps when Yuu bursts through the tent's flap, already changed and sleeping bag in tow, "I'm here!"

"I see that."

"Nice tent, you think you have enough pillows?"

Mika throws one at him, "I didn't pack it, Krul had it picked out when she found out I was going on this trip."

"Oh okay." Yuu unrolls out his sleeping bag aware of the space between their two bags. The tent isn't small enough where they have to be too close for comfort, but not too big either, leaving about two feet of space between them. Yuu quickly slips into his sleeping bag, the temperature's dropping fast outside and it's much warmer inside. Yuu's exhausted and ready to sleep, but first…. "We really are good, right Mika?"

He gives a smile and replies, "Yeah, Yuu-chan, we're good," before burrowing into his own sleeping bag and turning off the flashlight.

~~~~~  
He doesn't know how much later it is when he feels someone prodding him awake. "Yuu-chan, wake up, you're shivering."

"Huh?"

"You're cold."

"Oh, I guess I am." He had vaguely noticed he was cold in his sleep, but he was too tired to do anything about it.

"Why didn't you just ask for a blanket? I have plenty."

"I don't exactly sleep and think at the same time.

Mika unzips his sleeping bag, "Come here."

"Uh..are you sure?"

"Yes, come here," Mika says impatiently.

"Okay, okay." Yuu squirms out of his sleeping bag and squeezes in next to Mika, letting him wrap the blankets around them until only the top of Yuu's head is free.

"Better?"

"Mmm yeah." Yuu's falling back asleep when he remembers his promise to himself, that he would get a straight answer from Mikaela if he got him to go on this trip. This is the perfect opportunity. "Hey...Mika?"

"Hmm?"

"You like me, right?"

"..."

"Mika?"

"What do you mean?" Mika questions carefully.

"Do you have feelings for me?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Mika. Yes or no?"

"Maaaybe."

"No. No more mixed signals. Do you like me or not?"

"Yuu-chan, I do...but...it's complicated."

Yuu pulls back to look at Mika, "That's why you kissed me, but pretended you didn't?"

"Yeah," Mika confesses. "It was probably a bad idea, but I really wanted to anyway."

"Something to do with Lacus and Rene?"

"Partially."

So, Yuu thought right, he is mixed up with something, but more importantly, Mika does like him back. "I don't think it was a bad idea." Yuu leans forward and presses his lips to Mikaela's. Mika freezes for a split second before responding in kind and pulling Yuu closer.

Yuu throws a leg over Mikaela's and cups his face, using his tongue to ask for access. Mika complies and Yuu eagerly delves in. He can feel Mika's hands resting on the back of his thigh, squeezing lightly and Yuu moves his hand into Mikaela's hair and allows him to deepen the kiss. Yuu can't help his groan when he feels Mika take dominance and begin exploring his mouth. He's excited, they're finally really crossing that thin line they've been dancing.

As Mika's fingers began to trail upwards to the hem of his shirt, Yuu feels his breath growing shorter in anticipation of Mika's hands on his bare skin and he shivers in excitement when he feels Mika's warm hands on his waist. Yuu presses closer, intent on enjoying every bit of this, but Mika breaks away and gently pushes Yuu back when he tries to reconnect their lips. "We should probably stop before this goes too far."

"Ugh, why? We'll stop if it does."

"I just did. Believe me, I'd rather keep going, but not in a tent where anyone could just walk by."

Yuu flops back down under the blankets, but grabs Mika's hand. "So, you're mine now, right?"

Mika brings their joined hands to his lips, "Clearly."

"Good."

~~~~~  
Mika wakes up and he doesn't understand why he's so incredibly happy until he feels Yuu's hand still in his and sees Yuu's sleeping face a few inches from his own, then the memories from last night come back and he can't keep himself from smiling. He leans forward to give Yuu a light kiss on the nose and laughs quietly when Yuu scrunches up his face in response.

Mika squirms out of his sleeping and grabs his bag to shower and change. By the time he returns, Yuu is still fast asleep, so he dumps his bag and joins Lacus and Rene at their table for breakfast.

"I take it you made up with Yuuichirou?" Rene questions.

"How'd you know?"

"That smile on your face says it all."

"Oh," Mika says taking a bite, "We're dating now."

Lacus waves his fork at Mika, "You're unbelievable and here I thought you'd put all that behind you. How long do you think you can keep a relationship going when you can't tell the truth?"

Mika's smile morphs into a scowl, "You know, good friends would say congratulations."

"But, real friends would tell you the truth."

"Congratulations on your short lived relationship," Rene interjects.

"Thank you Rene."

"No problem."

Lacus rolls his eyes at the both of them and grabs a slice of bacon from Mika's plate, "My payment for putting up with your shit." Mika makes a face at him, but doesn't fight it.

"MIKA!" Mika looks up to see Yuu burst out of the tent and come running in his direction.

"Yes Yuu-chan?"

"You didn't wake me up," Yuu shoots him an accusatory look.

Mika chuckles in response, "We're not in a rush, you can sleep or you know even get dressed.

Yuu sighs, "I thought maybe you'd disappeared again."

"In the middle of a trip?"

"You never know with you." Yuu doesn't miss the knowing gazes Lacus and Rene send Mika. "I'm gonna go get dressed." After hitting those weird camp communal bathrooms to change, Yuu grabs breakfast with his friends before Mika drags him off, well he knows who he'll be spending today with.

If he thought Mika was affectionate before, it's nothing compared to now. Yuu's been practically attached to Mika all morning, with him rarely ever letting his hand go. He also seems to like kissing Yuu for no reason. On his hand, his cheek, the back of his neck when he's not looking, it's not bad, but it'll take some getting used to.

Yuu flips on his back and floats idly through the water, this is way better than boring 'camp activities,' they've had to do all morning. Although, he's surprised Mika's actually left him alone this long. Yuu glances around and spots Mika huddled in a corner of the small lake with Lacus and Rene, more secrecy. Yuu dives under and swims towards them, wondering if he can get close enough to hear what they're saying.

He barely gets within two feet of them before he feels hands pull him from the water by his upper arms, he should've known Mika would be watching him. "Did you miss me, Yuu-chan?" Mika questions teasingly, but the knowing look he's giving Yuu tells him, he probably knew what Yuu was trying to do.

"What were you talking about?"

"Nothing important, just family stuff."

"Family stuff like wh-." Mika abruptly drops him and Yuu gets an unexpected mouthful of water that he gags on.

"What were you saying Yuu-chan?" Mika asks sweetly.

Yuu gives him a sour look and turns away, "Nothing."

"Aww don't be like that," Mika says throwing his arms around him and placing a kiss on the back of his neck. "Sorry I dropped you, I can carry you again if you want."

"No!" Yuu glances around quickly, "Definitely not here."

Mika grins against his neck and lets his hands wander farther down to sweep softly over the planes of Yuu's lightly toned stomach. Yuu feels his breath catch and he grabs Mika's hands, pressing them firmer against his stomach.

"You're so needy, Yuu-chan," Mika whispers quietly into his skin.

"So what. You're just as bad."

"Mmm, you're right," Mika replies, kissing his ear. "I'm probably worse."

"Mika **..**." Yuu presses back into him, "Closer **..**."

"Hey!" Lacus sends a wave of water over them, effectively breaking the increasingly intimate atmosphere. "Cut that shit out! We're standing right here!"

"Cut what out? We're just talking."

"Yeah, like I didn't see you feeling him up, the water doesn't make you invisible."

Mika shrugs, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Come on, I'm hungry."

They get out the water and Mika gives Yuu a nudge to his friends, probably so they can finish their conversation, but Yuu's barely spoken to them all day, so he doesn't push back about it. He barely takes a seat when all eyes land on him. "Uh hey guys?"

"Oh my god! Don't tell me you had sex with him Yuu!"

"H-huh? No! God Shinoa."

"Well, what were we supposed to think, huh? You stayed the night in his tent, you've been grinning most of the morning, and he's gotten clingy."

"Sorry to discount your detective skills, but we didn't. Though, we are dating now."

"Yuu, you just keep getting pulled farther and farther in."

"Everyone has secrets."

"Some are worse than others."

"Don't worry, he's keeping me as far away from his as he can."

"The only good thing he's done so far," Shinoa mutters. "This won't end well, Yuu."

"I hope it doesn't end at all."

After lunch Yuu meets back up with Mika's group and they're no longer whispering to each other, so apparently whatever it was has been resolved and Mika's back at his side. They head back home tomorrow, so the general atmosphere seems to be do whatever you want in the limited time left. For Mika's group, that means sneaking away from camp with Lacus' abundance of snacks he snuck along, hanging around the edge of the forest, and jumping off waterfalls the rest of the afternoon. Once Yuu gets past the fear and after Mika jumps them over together the first time, it turns out to be pretty fun. It doesn't hurt that Mika sneaks in kisses after every jump either.

By the time they're back around the campfire for the last time, Yuu can't wait to crawl into his, well hopefully Mika's, sleeping bag. He's settled between Mika's legs, resting against his chest, completely content until Mika switches from rubbing slow circles on his stomach to poking him back awake.

"Mika, what the-"

"Let's make s'mores, Yuu-chan."

Yuu considers that for a moment, chocolatey marshmallowy goodness, but he'd also have to move and he's pretty comfortable, it'd be even better if Mika would bring his hand back. "Make one for me?"

"Alright," Mika pushes Yuu forward and gets up.

"Hey," Yuu frowns, "Where are you going?"

"I have to get the stuff."

"Ugh," he flops back on the ground, "I didn't think about that."

Mika shakes his head at Yuu's antics before walking off and returning shortly with a container filled with ingredients and two roasting sticks. Yuu sits up and Mika resumes his position behind him leaning against the bench for support.

Yuu watches him spear two marshmallows and slowly rotate them over the fire. They're almost finished when Mika says, "You could help, you know."

"Nah, I'm good."

"You really are too spoiled."

"Ya know I don't spoil myself, Mika…"

"Are you blaming me?"

"No," Yuu turns his head to kiss the edge of Mika's chin. "I'm just saying it takes two."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mika forces the sticks into Yuu's hand to assemble the s'mores, he shouldn't even be surprised when he hears Yuu yelp and begin fanning his tongue.

"Thas hoth!"

Mika laughs, "It _did_ just come off the fire."

"It's not funny, I think I just burnt my tongue!"

"Aw, want me to kiss it better?"

Yuu pauses, "Actually yes."

"Too bad," Mika teases, "I can't spoil you anymore."

"Miiika."

"You said it yourself, it takes two!"

Yuu turns around and lifts up on his knees, bringing his mouth to Mika's. He uses his burned tongue to demand access and with a brief puff of laughter, Mika assents. Yuu coaxes Mika into using his own tongue to meet up with Yuu's and the pleasure does wonders to numb the pain in his tongue. He would gladly keep going, if not for his slowly dawning awareness that they're being watched.

He reluctantly pulls away and clears his throat awkwardly when he realizes that half the camp is watching them with various emotions displayed across their faces. Ah, he forgot Mika keeps to himself and most people give him a wide berth, no wonder they're so surprised.

As quiet as they are, Yuu can still hear the whispers about them, is this what Mika puts up with on a daily basis? He turns to him, but Mika doesn't seem bothered by the stares, simply pressing a completed s'more into his hand. Well, if Mika doesn't care, then he doesn't either. Yuu moves to sit next to him, no sense letting Mika get s'mores in his hair.

Even after, they've finished and fire is out, there are still stares, it makes Yuu uncomfortably self-conscious when he follows Mika into his tent, knowing it will only fuel the fire.

"Hey Yuu-chan, you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem a bit out of it." Mika pauses, "Does the talk bother you?"

"No, it doesn't really affect me."

"Hmm, okay, tell me if it does."

"And what'll you do?"

"Get Lacus and Rene to help me take care of it, of course."

"Mika!"

"Haha, I'm just joking Yuu-chan, don't worry, we wouldn't do that...probably. Do you want a blanket?"

"What for?"

"Because you were freezing last night."

"Oh...no thanks?"

Mika gives him a funny look, "You were literally shivering to death last night."

"I'll be fine." Yuu gives him a searching look which Mika responds to with his own look of confusion.

"Uh, alright then." Mika slides into his own sleeping bag and grabs a blanket. "If you change your mind in the middle of the night, they're right here," Mika tells him before reaching to shut the flashlight off.

"Mika, wait!"

He looks over at Yuu in amusement, "Yes?"

"Let me sleep with you," Yuu rushes out and he's rewarded with a wide smirk from Mika, telling him that Mika knew all along what he wanted.

Mika lifts up the corner of his blanket, "That's all you had to say."

"You knew what I wanted," Yuu replies getting comfortable inside their warm cocoon.

"Maybe, but I wanted to hear you say it."

"Jerk."

~~~~~  
"Hey, Yuu-chan," Mika says gently running his fingers through Yuu's hair. He's not a morning person himself, but it still surprises him how deeply Yuu sleeps in the mornings.

"Hmm," he murmurs sleepily nuzzling his face closer to Mika's chest.

"You wanted me to wake you up."

"Mmm."

"Alright, I've done my part, I'll see you outside." Mika pulls himself away and immediately Yuu's hand shoots out to wrap around Mika's wrist. "So you _are_ awake."

"Nope."

"Uh huh." Mika grabs Yuu by the wrists and drags him out of the tent. Outside the atmosphere is tired and sullen. The sun has yet to rise and everyone is up preparing for the ride back, although no one looks happy about it.

This time, Yuu makes sure to sit with Mika for the ride back, if only to use him for a pillow. Once they return, it's a mad dash for everyone to grab their things and leave. Mika kisses him goodbye and when he does, Yuu notices Lacus and Rene giving him an unreadable look. He doesn't know what it means, but for some reason it turns his stomach and he only reluctantly lets Mika go.

Mika doesn't act any differently, but when Yuu sees them leave together, he can only wonder when will be the next time he sees Mika.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

* * *

"Yuu! Get down here!"

Yuu drags himself out of his room and down the stairs, "What?"

"So, I heard from Shinya you went and got yourself a boyfriend."

"Why can't you ever hear anything from me first?" Yuu asks in annoyance.

"Maybe because you never tell me anything."

"You're never here!"

"Shinya works almost as much as I do and Shinoa still finds a way to tell him things."

"Things that are none of her business," Yuu mutters.

"This is the same guy you were working on your 'art project' with?"

Yuu colors, "Why do you have to say it like that?! We _were_ working on our project!"

"That's not what Shinya said. I won't go into what he said cause it made my ears bleed, but I will say stop being gross on my living room floor."

"We weren't!"

"So, when do I get to meet him?" Guren asks.

"It's Mikaela, you already met him."

"Seeing him standing at the door when I picked you up, doesn't count. Besides after what Shinya told me, I'm now under the impression he's not just a weirdo, but a horny weirdo."

"Guren!"

"You should want me to meet him, so I can clear it up."

"Fine! I'll ask him to come over."

"I'll be off early Monday, invite him over then."

"Unbelievable! A day you're off early!" Yuu gasps before heading back upstairs to send a quick text to Mika, inviting him over Monday, not that he expects to receive a response. He looks at his silent phone, Mika hasn't contacted him in almost a week. He hasn't been in school either and Yuu's equal parts pissed and worried. You don't start dating someone then disappear without a word two days later. Apparently dating Mika doesn't mean he gets any more communication than before, but now he knows what those looks Lacus and Rene were giving him meant.

To his surprise, he actually gets a reply from Mika saying he'll come. Yuu hastens to text him back in hopes of getting some answers, but he's not disappointed when his phone is silent the rest of the night.

~~~~~  
Mika kicks Lacus off the couch to stretch his legs and receives a swift punch in the leg. "You ass."

"I've put up with you the past week, I deserve to stretch out."

"And _we've_ put up with your pouting all week. You don't know how happy I am to be back home"

"I have an idea and I didn't mention Yuu-chan all week."

"It was all over your face, you didn't have to say a word to know who you were pining for."

"I wasn't _pining_ , we've barely started dating."

"Mika." Lacus gives him a deadpan look, "We both know you've been hung up on him for a _long_ time."

"Either way, I didn't make any mistakes."

"Would you like a cookie?"

"Shut up."

"Rene! Hurry with the snacks, Mika's getting hangry!"

"And don't forget my phone!" Mika adds, shooting Lacus a contemptuous look.

"Could you two stop arguing for two seconds?" Rene questions from the doorway. "We did what we were supposed to and we're back home. Stop picking at each other."

Rene does have a point, a lot of things could have gone wrong. They were on reconnaissance in Italy for most of the week to get a feel for the place and wait for a time when the house was completely empty before they broke in and stole everything of importance from the target, bank account information, safe contents, private files, Lacus even stole one of his cars just for the hell of it. They had to ditch it, but not before Lacus went all out joyriding in the sports car, he'd likely say that was the highlight of the job because the rest was a test of patience.

Mika's not big on these recent breaking and entering jobs, but he supposes it's better than killing because other people aren't involved, as long as you don't get caught. He'd rather do none of it, but he won't leave Krul with no one to rely on, he owes her that much.

Rene shakes a bowl of popcorn in his face, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I got you each your own. I assumed you wouldn't be able to share."

"Yeah, you assumed right about Lacus."

Rene gives a long suffering sigh, "Here's your phone back too."

Mika lights up and immediately turns it on. He was so aggravated with Rene to find out he didn't even bring it with him. So he had to wait until they got back to his house to get it instead of immediately after they finished. It made the plane ride and report to Krul almost unbearable.

Once it's powered on, it immediately chimes with a litany of missed calls and texts, all from Yuu and almost all asking questions he can't give truthful answers to. He forgot to tell Yuu that he was going to be away for the following week after the trip and when it was time to leave, Rene was merciless in demanding his phone, so he couldn't even send off a message then.

Mika swipes the screen clear and looks at the most recent message, inviting him to have dinner with Guren. That's one he can actually answer, he sends an affirmation just in time for his phone to be knocked out of his hand.

"No calls or texts during the movie."

Mika glares, "What are you, a theater ad?"

"I just want to enjoy the movie with my friends."

Mika gives Lacus a look, but turns off his phone anyway. How they ever grew up without killing each other is a mystery to him.

~~~~~  
Yuu hears a knock on the door and swings it open, coming face to face with the one person he's been anxious to see, "Mika! Where the fuck have you been?! I've sent you so many messages and you didn't respond, you haven't been in class, I was fucking worried!

"Hey Yuu-chan!" Mika gives him a bright smile before grabbing Yuu in a tight hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, but don't ignore my questions!"

"Is Guren here? I don't see his car." Mika walks past Yuu and into the living room dragging him by the hand.

"Mika! Stop ignoring me!"

He turns and pulls Yuu to him by the waist, "I'm not ignoring you, Yuu-chan."

"Yes you are and I-mmf," Yuu is cut off when Mika abruptly shoves his tongue in Yuu's mouth. "Mmm Mika!" Yuu pulls away to protest, but Mika won't let them be separated long enough for Yuu to get more than a word out. Yuu manages to break out of his hold and put the table between them while he catches his breath, swatting Mika's hands away when he reaches over. "Mika...I was worried something happened to you."

"Sorry Yuu-chan, I had some family stuff to take care of."

"And you couldn't send a single text all week?"

"It's...complicated."

"Well, make it simple!"

Mika pauses then smiles, "If you kiss me first, maybe I'll explain it you," he replies sweetly.

"Mika...fine. Come here." He grins and comes around the table, pulling Yuu down to straddle his lap. Yuu shakes his head in exasperation before kissing him, he's only kissed Mika a few times, but he already missed it and Mika responds eagerly, hands sliding up Yuu's sides, but he doesn't get far before Yuu pushes him down. "You're the one on your back this time." His knees squeeze Mika's hips tightly, "Now tell me."

Mika smirks and flips them over before kissing Yuu again, "Like you could keep me on my back." He slowly pries his way into Yuu's mouth while sliding his shirt up. Yuu groans, bringing his hands to Mika's side to pull him closer. Yuu's shirt is halfway off when he hears the sound of a lock clicking open and his eyes widen, shit Guren!

Yuu rips his mouth away from Mika's "Guren's coming!"

Mika makes a noncommittal sound and switches to placing light kisses down Yuu's neck.

"Yuu? Are you here?" Guren calls and Yuu starts panicking, frantically trying to get Mikaela off of him.

"Shit, Mika, stop!" He whispers urgently. Mika grabs his flailing arms and pins them down, biting down right below Yuu's collarbone. It takes all Yuu's self control to hold in his gasp and...to not purposely knee Mikaela in the stomach. He lets go and sits up just as Guren walks in the living room.

"Hello. I take it you're Mikaela?"

"Yes, nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Where's Yuu?"

Mika gives a quick side glance down to Yuu's horrified face, swollen lips, and flushed skin, "He fell asleep."

"Dumb kid," Guren frowns then holds up several bags of take-out containers. "I don't know what you like and Yuu never told me, so I got a lot. Wake him up and come to the table." Guren exits with one last look over his shoulder.

Yuu immediately jabs him in the stomach, "That was so shitty Mika."

"Payback for being manipulative." Mika pulls Yuu's shirt back down before standing up, "I'm hungry, Guren's waiting." Yuu sighs and follows Mika into the kitchen, realizing he's not going to get much out of Mika today. Guren's already seated with a spread of containers on the table, he gives Yuu a funny look when he walks in, but doesn't say anything. Yuu can only guess at what his appearance looks like, but Mika on the other hand looks fine, not like he's been messing around on the living room floor.

"Where's Shinya?" Yuu asks to get the attention off of himself.

"Why would he be here?"

"I mean," Yuu gestures helplessly, "you guys are always together."

"Maybe, doesn't mean we have to be. Don't try to take the attention off the fact that you were being gross on my living room floor again after I told you to stop."

"I wasn't!"

"Yuu, I'm looking at you. It's all over you." Guren slides his violet eyes to Mika, "although, you're not the only culprit."

Mikaela smiles and grabs a container, "Wow, this smells good!"

"Whatever Mika," Yuu mumbles bitterly, "you don't even like takeout."

"No. I never said I didn't like it, I said I ate it too much before and wanted a break. But, I can make an exception since Guren was nice enough to get it," Mika ends with a smile.

"You're such a suckup, stop trying to get him to like you. You're just as guilty as me."

Guren observes the two boys bickering across from him, then again it might be their way of flirting. He's actually surprised that Yuu is dating someone and so soon after meeting them too. He wouldn't say Yuu was antisocial per say, but he doesn't go out of his way to meet people, likely due to his childhood then moving around so much with Guren. But, when Yuu does accept someone he values them and for someone to have claimed a place in Yuu's heart so quickly when it took forever for Yuu and him to connect, well...he's curious to say the least.

Mikaela has clearly been into Yuu from the beginning because let's face it, who does all that for a random person they just met. He obviously had other intentions and Yuu was either too dense to realize it or he didn't care, judging from the current situation, Guren's betting it's the latter. He's not too sure what to make of the blonde kid other than his feelings towards Yuuichirou and that Shinoa doesn't seem to like him. He should probably have Shinya question her, that'd provide a little more insight on where this kid came from.

Apparently he's been too quiet and they've unfortunately forgotten his presence.

"Mika, eat your own food!"

"But I want to try yours!"

"It's literally the exact same thing in the container."

"Why are you so mean to me?"

Yuu rolls his eyes and spears a piece of chicken, feeding it to Mika. "See? The same."

"Mmm tastes good." Mika licks his lips and leans forward.

Guren clears his throat, "Could you have some respect? I _am_ sitting right here." Both pairs of eyes look at him guiltily. "So, Mikaela, that day, why did you invite Yuu to your house for dinner?"

"Hmm, well he was already with me and he looked upset about having to eat fast food for dinner, plus I was eating alone too, so it made sense."

"And you took him to get his car?"

"It seemed like you were busy."

"And now you're-"

"Guren! Stop interrogating him!"

"It's fine, Yuu-chan, I'll tell him my whole life story if that gets me his approval."

"You don't have to do that Mika."

"Start at the beginning."

"Guren!"

"I'm just getting to know him Yuu."

"Well do it normally, you never did that with any of my other friends!"

"You didn't like them much in the beginning, nor did anyone walk in on any of you on my living room floor."

"It wasn't like that!"

"I'm adopted, I live with my mother. I've gone to school with Yuu since freshman year, but we always had different classes, so we never got to talk much until this year. And I like him."

Guren nods, "See that wasn't so hard was it, Yuu?"

"Leave him alone." Guren's prying and Yuu does it too himself, but it's different when it's someone else, he doesn't like it. Maybe it's because he knows Mika has secrets and he's feeling protective or maybe he just doesn't like Guren snooping about things Yuu hasn't even found out yet. "I'm finished," Yuu says, standing up and heading for the trash.

"You are?"

"Yep, I'll be upstairs when you finish Mika." Yuu hears the doorbell ring, but he can't even be bothered to stick around and see who it is.

Mika gives a quick look over to Guren, "I'm done too." He dumps his plate before running after Yuu. By the time he makes it upstairs, Yuu's already laying down sulking. When he notices Mika, he opens his arms in invitation. Mika comes over and gladly lets Yuu fold him into his arms. "What's wrong Yuu?"

"I was tired."

"So, that's why you just cut out halfway through dinner?" Yuu shrugs. "Come on Yuu, what's up?"

"...I don't like him prying."

"He's your dad."

"So what, you're _mine._ "

Mika laughs, although he can't deny the rush of happiness it gives him. "Yuu-chan, he's your _dad,_ he's going to ask questions especially if he's never met me." Mika lifts up on his arms to look down at Yuu, "You should apologize."

"I didn't _do_ anything. He should apologize to you for doubting you."

"It's okay to ask questions, Krul would too."

Yuu's eyes light up, "Then where've you been and how come you did-"

Mika cuts him off with a light kiss, "I didn't say it was okay for _you_ to ask questions."

"What? That's not fair at all!"

"Neither is life. But, I promise I'll make it up to you soon."

Yuu loops his arms around Mika's neck, "You could start now."

Mika adjusts until Yuu is in his lap, "Yeah right. After how you freaked out downstairs?"

"Well Guren's not about to walk in right now, is he?"

"No, but I am."

Yuu looks towards the door, "I _knew_ you'd be here and Guren tried to act like you wouldn't."

"Of course," Shinya inclines his head, "I brought apple pie. Guren wants you downstairs and he also said 'tell him to leave the crap upstairs, I don't want to have to beat it out of him'.''

"I could take him!"

"I'm sure you could."

Mika lifts Yuu up and follows Shinya out of the room. "Stop fidgeting, I'm making it up to you."

"This is not what I meant," Yuu hisses. "They would never let me live this down."

"Well if you don't stop moving, we'll both go down these stairs and you won't have to worry about living."

Guren shoots them a look, "I thought I said leave the crap upstairs."

"I did!" Yuu exclaims, wiggling out of Mika's hold and plopping down next to Guren, ignoring the dirty look he sends Yuu's way and sandwiching him between the end of the couch.

"That's Shinya's spot."

Yuu makes a face, "Shinya doesn't have a spot."

"He is right, Guren. Since I don't live here, I don't have a 'spot'," he says with a pointed look in his direction. He hands out the pie and takes a seat next to Mika. "It's nice to meet you formally. Last time you were a bit..busy working on your..project."

Mika chooses not to comment on the insinuation and instead compliments his baking. Shinya seems a bit friendlier than Guren, not that Guren is unfriendly, but Shinya puts him more at ease. There's something a bit familiar about Shinya now that he's looking at him closer, but Mika's not sure what. Maybe someone he met in the past? But, if that's the case, with how closely kept he was, there's no doubt he wouldn't have met Shinya on bad terms. So, maybe it's best he doesn't remember.

He relaxes back into the couch, there's such a family atmosphere, nothing like the families he knows, it's nice. He can only hope he doesn't ruin it with his selfishness.

~~~~~  
"Hey Guren?" Yuu questions, watching Mika drive off.

"What brat?"

"If you thought someone was involved in something bad, how would you help them?"

Guren turns to him, "What the hell did you do now, Yuu?"

"Nothing! I told you I can take care of myself!"

"Sometimes."

"Anyway, what would you do?"

Guren stares at him for a second before sighing, "Well, first I'd find out what exactly he was involved in. You can't help them if you don't know the details."

"Hmm, alright." Looks like he'll have to do more prying before he can figure out how to help Mika.

"Yuu…"

"It's fine Guren! I told you it wasn't me."

Guren watches Yuu head back in the house, now he'll really have to get answers out of Shinoa. Yuu only has a few friends and if it's one of them, he doesn't want Yuu getting tangled up in something destructive, that boy seriously doesn't know when to press and when to let things go.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

* * *

"Why are _you_ coming with us?" Lacus asks in annoyance.

"Relax, as much as I would love to come on your job with you, I have my own things to take care of. We shall go separate directions when we get there. I kept my word."

"Good."

Mika sighs in exasperation, another random drop in from Ferid. They were almost ready to leave when he showed up and said he was going with them. Of course he'd be in the backseat with Mika because Rene cared nothing about seniority, but as long as he kept his hands to himself, it should be fine.

"If you're coming, let's go. I don't know if the weather will hold," Rene says with a glance at the darkening sky. "We should do this fast."

They load up and once they make it to the location about 45 minutes away, Ferid disappears while they crouch down to wait. It's another simple task, the man hired a hitman to kill someone from Krul's organization who was trailing him and Krul's returning the favor with her own people.

"Krul never used to go after so many people," Lacus comments.

"Her position didn't used to be this unstable."

Mika remains silent, they're right, but he's not going to add fuel to the fire by giving his opinion. The fact is people consider Krul soft because she doesn't have a thirst for blood. Leadership passed from her brother, Asuramaru, to her when he passed and her subordinates consider her an unfit leader. It's been brewing for a while now and there are whispers of insubordination from those closer to the top.

If Krul can't get it back under control, other branches may step in to put in a new leader and it likely won't end well for her. Mika doesn't approve of the increase in attacks, but he also realizes it's unavoidable. They have yet to stamp out the root of the dissension, but it's something Krul is putting her best effort to finding. There's benefit for him to though, the more stable Krul's position is, the safer he is. He doesn't know what would happen to him if Krul were taken out, he's not even related to her by blood.

"There he is Mika," Lacus' nudge bringing him back to the situation at hand. "Well, isn't he a giant. I'll shoot the bodyguard and immediately you go after the target. Rene's covering us."

"Got it."

"Now."

Lacus fires and hits the bodyguard right over his heart, he goes down instantly and the target looks around before taking off back the way they came. Mika jumps up from their hiding spot and takes off after him. He doesn't get far past the bodyguard before he feels a hand grab his ankle sending him painfully to the ground, his gun flying out of his hand. "Lacus!" Mika yells as Rene jumps over him to take up his pursuit.

"I'm here," he responds letting loose a carefully aimed bullet. "Sorry about that," he says pulling Mika up. Lacus pats the bodyguard's chest, "Looks like he had a bullet proof vest, but he's finished now."

"Yeah, so am I."

"He's been taken care of," Rene states returning to their group.

"Where is he?"

"I left him where I shot him."

Mika shoots a look at Lacus, "Did you check?"

"I made sure he was dead."

"Let's go then," Lacus huffs.

"I have to find my gun first."

"You better hurry," he says as a drop of rain hits him in the face.

Mika turns and begins searching the alley, the darkness isn't helping him at all. He's crouched near the back of the alley when they hear the sirens. "Mika, shit! Hurry up! Someone must've called!"

"I can't find it," he yells back frantically.

"Fuck! We can't stay, leave it or meet us at the car!"

"You're gonna leave me?!"

"You dropped it! We can't all be caught!" Lacus grabs Rene and they take a sharp right out of the alley and across the street. Mika curses internally, he can't leave his gun, it's got his fingerprints all over it. The sirens have gotten obnoxiously louder by the time he locates his gun in a corner. It's too risky to try to leave without being seen. Mika can already see the flashing lights when he makes the decision that his best chance to go undetected is the narrow strip between a bush and the fence. He makes a mad dash for it and crouches down to wait.

~~~~~  
"Where's Mika?" Ferid questions them.

"Someone called the cops and they got here a lot faster than I would've thought possible. Mika was in the middle of searching for his gun when they arrived. I think he's out there hiding somewhere until they leave."

"It's pouring rain."

"And he's probably miserable, but he can't move until they're gone if he doesn't want to be caught."

"My poor Mika," Ferid frowns sadly. "This will probably take a while, they'll want to get all the evidence they can before the rain washes it away." Ferid suddenly smirks, "I'll meet you all back here shortly," and he disappears around the corner.

~~~~~  
Mika leans closer to the fence, careful not to make a sound. This was the closest hiding spot he could get to in the spur of the moment and it's not the best. He's fortunate it's darker and he has his hoodie pulled over him, if not for that, his pale skin and blonde hair would make him an easy target to see in the flashing lights.

Unfortunately though, his hoodie does little to keep the rain out, he's already soaked through and it's all he can do to hold the shivers and chattering of his teeth in. The longer this crime scene is active, the colder he gets, but this wasn't some random guy and they're intent on combing the area for any trace of evidence they can find. Mika wedges himself farther into the corner between the bush and fence, hoping he won't be seen.

He's unsure of how long it's been when he's awoken by his phone vibrating, he's shaking so hard it takes him some extra effort to reach his phone to answer Rene's call. "H-hello?"

"Where are you? They've finally left, but there's probably still some surveillance, so be careful when you come out. We're by the car two blocks down."

"Alright." Mika hangs up and stands, he's so stiff and can't stop shaking. What he wouldn't give for a warm shower right about now. He's thrilled when he sees Lacus' SUV, what he's not thrilled about is Ferid standing beside it giving him a shit eating grin, this can't be good.

"You look like a drowned rat, Mika!" Lacus yells from the driver's side.

"I feel like one too."

"You can't get in here like that, you'll ruin the seats."

"Are you kidding me right now, Lacus?"

"Nope, but Ferid thought ahead…"

Mika glances over to Ferid who's still grinning at him, but he now has a thick blanket spread open in his hands. "I thought you'd be cold and might want a little warmth."

Despite how cold he is and how warm that blanket looks, Mika still has his pride, "No thanks, I'm fine," and he opens the door.

"Mika," Lacus warns, "If you ruin my seats, you're paying for it."

Mika rolls his eyes, "Okay I will." Lacus turns back around, seemingly satisfied.

"Mikaela, dear, you're going to get pneumonia."

"I'd rather get pneumonia than be near you." Ferid tsks, but climbs in the backseat with him and they're off. Mika shivers against the door, the heat is barely doing anything with his clothes soaked through, just making him feel sticky and soggier, especially his shoes. He slips them off, bringing his knees to his chest, curling up smaller, he can practically hear his bed calling to him.

Ten minutes later, he hears Ferid unbuckle his seatbelt and Mika shoots him a half-hearted glare in warning which he promptly ignores before sliding closer and throwing the blanket around Mika's shoulders. Ferid gathers Mika in his arms and as much as Mika hates it, he's too stiff and tired to protest much. "Why are you so stubborn? Where did that come from? You never used to be this way."

"Shut up," Mika mumbles, squeezing in closer to the warmth. He really hates Ferid sometimes.

~~~~~  
The next morning Mika wakes up exhausted. His head feels like cotton, he's hot, he's cold, and he's thirsty, but too weak to move. He considers calling out to Krul, but remembers he's home alone. He digs out his phone and sends a quick text to Rene, maybe he'll take pity on him and bring him some medicine later. He doesn't see their response though, because the next minute, his head is heavy and he's out again.

~~~~~  
Yuu approaches Lacus and Rene's table which is conspicuously missing Mika. It's not odd that Mika isn't at school, but what _is_ odd is that Lacus and Rene are here while he isn't.

"Hey guys, where's Mika? He's not answering his phone."

"If I had to take a guess, he's probably at home sick."

"He was fine a few days ago."

"True, but he got caught in the rain yesterday. I don't know what he has, but he said he didn't feel well."

Yuu frowns, "He didn't reply to any of my messages."

"Maybe he fell back asleep," Lacus shrugs. "Though, he could probably use some help. Krul's gone and he's there all alone, probably sick and suffering."

"Why didn't you guys help him?!"

"Aren't _you_ his boyfriend? We are helping him, I'm telling you. Go take care of him or something. If you care enough to skip school, that is."

"Of course I care!"

"If he's asleep, he probably won't answer the door, you'll have to climb up and go through his balcony doors."

"Okay." Yuu gives a glance and a quick wave back at his friends before heading out the door. He did promise himself he'd help Mika after all.

Rene turns to Lacus, "Doesn't Mika's balcony have hidden spikes?"

"Yep."

~~~~~  
Yuu buckles his seatbelt and starts his car, he really shouldn't be skipping school, but what's the worse they can do, tell Guren? He could just lie and say he went home because he wasn't feeling well, it's not like Guren's home enough to know if Yuu's there or not.

He arrives at Mika's house shortly and as Lacus said, no one answered when he rang the doorbell. Well, reaching his balcony shouldn't be harder than rock climbing, if he can do that, he can definitely do this. He begins to shimmy up the column and almost immediately he feels his hand pierced by something sharp. What the hell?

He flips his hand over, but there's no sign of what stabbed him, just blood on his palm. Yuu wipes his hand on his pants and brushes it gently over the column feeling sharp points every so often. He internally groans, this is probably to discourage people from climbing the balcony and Lacus probably knew all along.

Sighing, Yuu peels off his jacket and wraps the sleeves around each palm and begins the climb again, ignoring the stings in his palms and trying to avoid letting his legs touch the column. Jeez he wants to kill Lacus for not warning him and why the hell is Mika's balcony spiked anyway? Is he that worried someone's going to break in?

Yuu hauls himself over the railing and heads to the door, he turns the doorknob and of course it's locked. He knocks on the door, getting progressively louder and impatient when he doesn't receive a response. His efforts are finally rewarded when he sees the curtains move and the door opens.

"Yuu-chan, what are you doing here?" Mika asks sleepily.

"I was worried about you. Lacus said you were home alone sick."

"Hmm."

Mika's lackluster response is all the reminder Yuu needs that he doesn't feel well. Yuu gets a good look at Mika supporting himself on the door frame, he's sweating, his eyes are unfocused and glazed over, plus he's shivering. Yuu grabs hold of Mika's shoulders and gently leads him back to the bed. "Do you have any medicine?"

"Probably…"

"Have you taken any?" Mika shakes his head. Yuu looks around the room, there's no water, no medicine, nothing to help a sick person. Even if Guren had to work, he'd still try and make sure Yuu was comfortable before he left, but it looks like Mika just stayed in bed miserable all morning. Yuu places a hand on Mika's forehead, "It feels like you have a fever. I'll be right back."

Yuu returns momentarily, after raiding Mika's medicine cabinet, with water, medicine, and a thermometer. Mika's already dozing back off, so Yuu goes ahead and slides the thermometer in his mouth, checking the temperature when it beeps. Yep, just as he thought, Mika has a fever. "Here Mika swallow this." Yuu rouses him lightly and Mika dutifully swallows the medicine before curling up on his side. "The water too." Mika groans. "Just drink, you baby. I'm trying to help you."

Mika forces himself back into a seating position and without opening his eyes lets Yuu hold the water bottle to his mouth, taking a few small sips. "Mmm Yuu-chan, I'm glad you came," he murmurs sleepily.

"Me too."

"Promise you'll stay with me?"

"Duh."

"Forever?"

"Forever?"

"Forever."

"Uh, forever's a long time, Mika."

"I've liked you a long time, it feels like forever."

Yuu combs his fingers through Mika's hair, "Have you?"

"I have."

Yuu gives a huff of laughter, "You should get some sleep." He slides off the bed and watches Mika fall back onto his pillows with his eyes shut. Yuu looks down at Mika and smiles, he never looks this vulnerable awake, it's a nice change.

After bringing more medicine and water to the night stand, Yuu strips out of his jeans and climbs in beside Mika and the next second he feels a warm heavy weight drape over him. Apparently Mika's not as asleep as he thought.

"Yuu-chan…."

"Yeah?"

"I love you," he murmurs tiredly.

Yuu eyes widen in surprise, "You do?"

"So _so_ much….for a long time."

Yuu's pretty sure Mika wouldn't be saying this to him if he was in his right mind instead of tired and disoriented from his fever, but he can't help but be curious. "How long's a long time?"

"Feels like...forever. I watched...you a lot...all the time." Mika snuggles his head under Yuu's chin, his sweaty face rubbing against Yuu's neck. "You...never noticed...but Shinoa did. She...hated it….mmm….didn't...want...me near you…."

Yuu lifts a hand to brush back the sweaty bangs from Mika's forehead, looks like he's actually asleep now. So, Mika's been watching him for a long time, huh. And Shinoa's known….forever, probably about the time she started her anti-Mika campaign. That was over a year ago, though. So, Mika's been in love with him that long and never said anything.

A lot makes sense now: why Shinoa was so against Mika when Yuu hadn't ever spoken to him, why Mika's smiles were always so warm towards him, and most of all why Mika was so eager to spend time with him in the beginning.

Yuu unconsciously begins playing with the hairs at Mikaela's nape, he squirms a bit, but otherwise gives no reaction. But, Yuu considers, for all the questions it answers, there's still more unanswered. Where did Mika's reputation come from? Why are he and his friends so secretive? Why is Shinoa against him? Why wouldn't Mika ever say anything to him before?

Ugh, so many questions, he could just ask Mika when he feels better, but he's positive he wouldn't get an answer, he only got this much because Mika was delirious. Speaking of which, Mika's body is scorching, that can't be good, but he gave him medicine so hopefully it helps. Yuu looks down at Mika's flushed, but peaceful face and promises himself again, he _will_ help Mika.

~~~~~  
Yuu wakes up sometime that evening and the back of his shirt is soaked through with sweat that isn't his. Yuu makes a face, that's gross, but he chose to climb in the bed with Mika, at least his fever appears to be broken now and he's sleeping peacefully, albeit on top of Yuu's back and with a death grip on his shirt, but still, he's resting.

He wiggles out of Mika's grip and his shirt is plastered to his back, he really wants a bath. Yuu heads into Mika's spacious bathroom and takes a seat on the edge of his garden tub to run water. He's waiting for the tub to fill when Mika appears in the doorway, still paler than usual, but his eyes are clear and focused. "Feel better now?" He receives a shrug in reply. "Do...you want to take a bath with me?"

Mika hesitates for a brief moment before nodding and making his way over to straddle Yuu's lap and lean against him. Yuu grabs Mika's waist to steady them from falling in the tub, "You're pretty clingy today."

"Why are you taking a bath now?"

"Because you sweated your fever out all over me and I feel gross."

"Oh."

They lapse into silence as the tub fills until Yuu catches a whiff of something fruity and glances behind him to see that Mika has dumped bubble bath in the tub and its rapidly filling up with bubbles. "Really? Bubble bath?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, plus….I've never taken a bath with another person and this makes it less awkward.

Yuu laughs, "You could've just said no."

"I wanted to."

Yuu lifts Mika off him, shutting off the water and peeling away the rest of his clothes, stepping into the tub and doing his best not to watch Mika undress. An erection is the last thing he needs right now.

Yuu slides into the water until the bubbles tickle his chin, only opening his eyes when he feels Mika settle across from him. He watches Mika idly play with some bubbles, but he looks more tired than anything if the dark circles under his eyes are anything to go by.

He really shouldn't right now, but…"So...you've liked me for a year, huh?"

Mika freezes, "W-what?"

"You've liked me for a year and used to watch me all the time."

"I didn't- I mean, I don't- no?"

"You were kind of like stalker, but a pretty good one since I never noticed. Did you follow me home sometimes too?"

"I wasn't a stalker! I haven't liked you that long!"

"Don't lie to me, Mika," Yuu taunts.

Mika sighs, "Did Lacus and Rene tell you that?"

"No, _you_ did, when you were burning up with fever."

"I-it's not like that. I wasn't a stalker, I just...you...and I couldn-"

Yuu leans forward and cuts him off with a soft kiss. "It's okay, Mika. I'm just joking with you. I...don't know if it's love yet, but I really like you too." And it makes Yuu's heart melt, the relief that comes over Mika's face when he says that. He hadn't realized how important it was to Mika to have his feelings reciprocated.

They finish bathing in silence, though it's not uncomfortable in the slightest, before Yuu gets out and rifles through Mika's dresser for clothes. He yawns and goes back to the bed, then cringes when he feels the sheets are still damp, he doesn't particularly want to sleep in sweat after a bath.

"Mika! Where are your sheets?"

"Why?" He shouts back from the bathroom.

"Because your sheets are still cold and wet."

Mika comes out of the bathroom looking at lot better than when he went in, "Forget about that. I'll change them later." He grabs a blanket and gets comfortable on the couch.

"We can't both fit on there."

"Yes we can."

"But-"

"Yuu-chaaan! Come sleep on the couch with me!"

"Fine, fine. You don't have to yell." Mika grabs Yuu and yanks him down into an embrace the moment he's close enough.

"Really, thanks for coming."

"No problem." Yuu adjusts until he's more comfortable, "Although I do want answers since I took care of you. Mika? Mika? You're not asleep, I know you're just pretending." Yuu pokes him in the side and receives no response. "Ugh, fine," Yuu relents even as he feels Mika shaking slightly with laughter.

~~~~~  
"Mikaela! Are you okay? I heard…" Krul trails off as she sees Yuu looking at her in surprise.

"Uh hello?"

"Oh. Yuuichirou. I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah...Mika wasn't feeling well, so I came to take care of him." Yuu rests a hand on Mika's forehead, "He seems to be doing better now though."

"I see." Krul scrutinizes him so long, he starts to shift uncomfortably, aware of his position atop Mika.

"Um, yeah. So, I think I'm just gonna head home."

"At least stay for breakfast, " Krul finally says. "I've been wanting to talk to you anyway."

"S-sure." Yuu looks down at Mika and prays he wakes up soon, despite how deeply asleep he clearly is.

"You can just leave Mikaela. I'm sure he'll wake up sooner or later."

"Right." Yuu waits until Krul leaves to shimmy from under the blanket and pull his pants on before making his way downstairs. He takes a seat at the island and watches Krul prepare breakfast, the last time he sat here, he had a much better view, but probably best not to think about that right now.

Krul sets an omelette in front of Yuu and observes him casually. "So Yuuichirou, you're dating my son?"

Yuu pauses mid bite and places his fork back down, so it's going to be that kind of talk. "I am."

"And how is it going?"

"I think it's going well."

"I suppose so, you did come over and take care of him. How did you know he was sick?"

"Lacus and Rene told me." Yuu notices her eyes widen in surprise, did she not know Mika was friends with them? Maybe she doesn't trust them either.

"Yes..that's how I found out this morning also. I can only wonder why he didn't call me." Her eyes narrow slightly at Yuu. "How close are you with them?"

"Not close at all. They're Mika's friends, they only told me, so I could help him."

Krul nods slowly, "Yuuichirou, how much do you like my son?"

What an awkward question. "A lot?"

"You should be sure of that before you stay with him any longer. Mika gets attached and if you stay with him, you'll be with him for the long haul and you may find yourself in over your head. Wait too long to decide you don't care for him as much as you thought and it may not end well."

Yuu blinks in surprise. Did he just a get a warning from Mika's _mom?_ Just what the hell is going on, clearly she knows or she wouldn't be warning him. What is he supposed to do with that? "Are you telling me to...break up with him?"

"Not at all. You're young Yuuichirou, I'm telling you to make sure he's what you really want before getting too involved with him. You may or may not be able to tell, but Mikaela is the loyal type. If you let him, he will love you with everything he has and give you anything. He may seem a bit distant sometimes now, but he will only be able to keep it for so long before his want to be close to you overpowers most everything else. Be sure it's what you want before things go too far. I don't want both of you to hurt unnecessarily, especially him. Despite everything, he still has a soft heart and you make it softer."

Yuu silently finishes his breakfast, he needs time to process this and he doesn't have a clue where to start. He almost jumps a foot when he feels his phone vibrate, he forgot it was in his pants' pocket. Yuu goes pale when he sees numerous missed calls and texts from Guren and that it's 9:30am. "Uh I have to go to school and my guardian wants me home, he's worried."

Krul looks up at the clock and frowns, "It's a bit late to try and make school, I'll take care of it," she says with a wave of her hand. "Go see your guardian and if you do skip school, Mikaela's not going either and I'm sure he'd love the company. But _after_ you've given what I said some thought."

"I will, thank you for breakfast." Yuu pats his pockets for his car keys and hurries out the door.

~~~~~  
Mikaela stands hidden just outside of the doorway fighting back tears. Why did Krul have to say that? Sure, he'd eventually run into problems with Yuu, they're already starting to and Yuu's been prying, but he's been handling it! If she tells him something ominous like that, what's he going to think? And he's not weak just because he loves Yuu! He can't deny he's done some things he wouldn't have done if it wasn't for Yuu. It still isn't fair, he's been nothing but loyal to her, he should at least get this. He pads silently back up the stairs to his couch where he cries himself back to sleep.

~~~~~  
Yuu tries to stealthily unlock the door and enter the house, but it's a no go. The minute he opens the door, Guren is there waiting for him. "And where the hell have you been, Yuuichirou?"

"I was at Mika's house."

"You couldn't answer a single call or text?"

"I was...busy. I didn't even see them until this morning."

"Busy. You couldn't tell me you were staying the night?"

"I forgot. I didn't even think you'd be home to notice!"

"I NOTICED! What am I supposed to think when you don't show up or answer calls and your friends haven't seen you since lunch?! LUNCH! Meaning you skipped half a day of school!"

Yuu sighs, "I'm sorry, Mika was sick and alone, so I went over to help him. I didn't know I was going to stay that long."

"Where was his mother?"

"At work."

Guren makes a noise of frustration, "You're grounded."

"What?! For helping a friend?"

"No, for being irresponsible! Next time send a message, so I won't be up all night worrying about you. Go do something with yourself _quietly_ , now that you're finally home, I can get some sleep."

Well he clearly won't be going back to Mika's today or anytime soon, but perhaps it'll give him some time to think.


	11. Chapter 11

Well, I was ahead on writing and it's my birthday, so I figured, hey why not update an extra chapter. :)

~~~~~  
Chapter 10

* * *

It's been a few weeks since Mika's recovered and Yuu still hasn't gotten any more information from him. In fact, he's been oddly distant, which is both good and bad. It gives Yuu time to think on what Krul said, but he doesn't like the way Mika's been keeping a distance between them, he misses him. Yuu has a suspicion that Krul said something to Mika also, which would explain it.

He won't lie, it hurts a bit that Mika could go from being so sweet and affectionate with him to keeping his space. Oh, he doesn't ignore Yuu or anything but he doesn't go out of his way to seek him out or touch at all. He's also been missing even more school, half heartedly showing up to work on their art project, and looking more tired than ever lately.

However Lacus and Rene always look just fine, in fact they're more energetic than ever in gym. No matter what activity or sport they play, those two always find a way to gang up on Yuu. He's not sure what Mika told them because it doesn't seem _malicious,_ but they're clearly trying to give him a hard time.

"You know, Yuu, it makes no sense to watch your own boyfriend from afar when you could just walk up to him," Yoichi mentions.

"Yeah I know, but things are weird right now, we're giving each other space."

"Space?" Kimizuki snorts, "You've been dating what, a little over a month and you're already sick of each other?"

"Shut _up,_ Kimizuki," Yuu snaps. "We're not sick of each other, there's just some stuff we haven't talked about."

"Yuu…"

"I get it Shinoa! I know he's hiding things, you don't have to tell me anymore!"

"So. you're going to break up with him?"

"No! Sometimes people make mistakes, I'm not just going to give up on him."

Shinoa narrows her eyes, "Give up?"

"I'm going to help him."

Her eyes widen, "Yuu, that is the dumbest thing you've said today! You don't even know what he's involved in."

"That's why I'm gonna find out!"

"No! That's a bad decision! Don't get involved."

"You guys are making a scene," Mitsuba interrupts.

Shinoa lowers her voice, "Yuu, seriously, please don't do it."

"Why not?" He challenges.

"I can't say."

"You're just as bad as him."

Shinoa opens her mouth, but nothing comes out, she simply shakes her head.

~~~~~  
That night, staring blankly at the TV and eating cookies, it finally hits him. Mika is a drug dealer and it all fits! Yuu doesn't know all the details of how everything works, but he's seen enough movies to understand what's going on. It pretty much answers all his questions. That's why they miss school all the time, they probably have to monitor shipments and that day when Lacus and Rene were beating that guy up was a drug deal gone bad! Mika probably didn't want him to be able to identify the guy, so he rushed him away.

And he got caught in the rain waiting for a supplier or something and that's why he was sick, it's all coming together now! It also explains why he's so strong, but no one knows it, so if things go bad, they'll underestimate him and he can get the jump on them. What if they're in a gang? What if they go around doing shady deals at night? He bets they wear masks when they go out, like villains so no one can see their faces. What kind of masks though? And why doesn't Krul stop him? Maybe she's right there with him? All these options are making his brain hurt.

But on the other hand...Mika has plenty of money, all three of them do, so why sell drugs? Unless….it's a family business. In that case, Mika wasn't lying when he said he had family things to take care of. Krul seemed to know something when she gave him that warning. Maybe she was warning him, that if he stayed with Mika, he'd end up selling too. But, he would never do that and he doesn't plan on letting Mika continue either. If it really is a family business though, he'll have to be careful, Krul might not like it if Mika quits. But, he's still her son, she wouldn't throw him out...right? In case she did though, if he phrased it right, he could probably convince Guren to let Mika stay with them without revealing too much.

However, he's thinking positive and he has to face facts, what if Mika doesn't want to quit? Once he tells Mika he knows, everything will be on the table, they won't have any more secrets, but if Mika refuses, could he stay with him? He promised himself that he would help him, but if he doesn't want help, he can't force him.

He really doesn't want to break up with Mika though, when 'family things' aren't happening, it's easy to be with him. He meant what he said, it may not be love yet, but he does really like him. He has to make a decision fast though. If what Krul said is true, if he makes up with and accepts Mika as he is, that's it, he's locked in whether he wants to be or not.

Yuu sighs, if he really can't get Mika to quit, he'll still give it a shot. Now that they won't have any more secrets, their relationship can only get better and he'll do his best to try and keep him out of danger, though he'll have to make sure Guren doesn't find out, he'd kill him. It also seems like Shinoa did have his best interests at heart, after all, he'll have to thank her for trying so hard despite his stubbornness.

But, the biggest question he can't wait to get an answer to is why. Because Mika's far too sweet for something like that, even Krul said so. He needs to talk to Mika. Yuu grabs his jacket and heads out the door.

Fifteen minutes later he's parked next to Mika's house. He doesn't see Mika's car just two unfamiliar ones, but he figured it'd be best to talk in person and he couldn't count on Mika to answer his phone whether he was home or not. Yuu rings the doorbell impatiently and he's greeted by Krul.

"Yuuichirou? What are you doing here? Mika's not here."

"He's not? I just wanted to talk to him for a minute."

"I don't know when he'll be back. Oh hold on a minute," Krul says when her phone gestures him into the living room and steps into another room to answer her call. Yuu takes a seat on the couch, fingers idly tapping the arm. He kind of came here impulsively, he hasn't even thought of how to bring it up with Mika yet.

Yuu glances up as he hears the rapid tap of heels, then a door slamming shut followed by the sound of a car engine. Did Krul just leave him here? He stands and hurries to the window in time to see her backing up and driving off down the street. What the hell? But, since he's already here, he may as well stay and wait for Mika to get back he thinks returning to the couch.

~~~~~  
Mika sits in the corner, picking off each person as they walk in the door. He feels no remorse for them, they had a choice, they picked this life, it's what they deserve he thinks callously. At least Lacus can't say he's doing a bad job of watching the door, he's already shot 5 people and he'll shoot anyone else who comes through that doorway.

He'd rather be home in his bed, but not like he could sleep even if he was, although Krul did offer him some sleeping pills he may reconsider trying. He's barely gotten any sleep the past few weeks, not being on the best terms with Yuu is probably a big cause of it. Yuu doesn't know he overheard Krul nor has he brought it up, but it's there between them, like the elephant in the room. He's bracing himself, if Yuu takes Krul's warning, he'll have to pick up the pieces of his heart himself and it already feels like it's breaking when he actually lets himself feel.

Ah, the sixth person's wise, he notices the trail of bodies Mika has artfully created and stays outside the door, firing in. Like that'll help, he can't shoot what he can't see. He walks over to the door and presses against the wall, waiting for the inevitable moment when the shooter will peek in to see if he hit anyone, stupid. Like clockwork, the man peeks in and Mika slams the butt of his gun into the man's skull before he even has a chance to lay eyes on Mika. He pushes the man out, then locks the door and heads towards the back, this has gone on long enough.

Mika enters the back office and sees the target in his chair, beaten and bloody, apparently Lacus has been having fun, too much fun. "Hurry up and kill him, so we can leave." He doesn't miss the look they give each other. Lacus and Rene have been whispering about him recently, he knows he's been different lately and of course they would have noticed more than anyone else, but he can't bring himself to care.

"Mika, are you okay?" Rene questions.

"Yeah, just tired."

"You've been tired a lot. Aren't you sleeping?"

"Not really."

"Mika," Lacus sighs. "Just talk to Yuuichirou. You can't just leave things like this. Plus if you keep bottling things up you're going to explode."

"And what will I say when I talk to him? Not the truth, so we'd just be going in a circle."

"Maybe, but you miss him so much you can barely sleep and its borderline painful watching you two in art class."

"Can we _please_ just finish this up? Krul got me some pills I might try."

"Fine! You're so thickheaded!" Lacus lets off a shot, effectively ending the man's pleading grunts. "We got what we needed, let's go then."

"Not that way, I locked the door. There's probably a bunch of guys waiting for us out there."

"Which way?"

"Emergency stairs."

"On the outside of the building? We'll be easy targets."

"Go up, cross to the next building and climb down. Hurry up, they could break down the door any minute."

Lacus gives him a long suffering look, "This wouldn't have happened if you'd stayed at the door," he mutters before crawling out the window, Rene following close behind. Mika slips out after them, shuts the window, and starts up the stairs. He wonders if the men will realize they might go out the back before or after they break down the door. Either way, they're close enough to the top to be home free. He pulls himself up over the side after them and they cross to the other roof, before heading down the stairs.

In the lights, he can see Lacus was messy about it again, he's got blood splotches all over his shirt. Blood stains are a lot worse than water, he should threaten to make him take a taxi in payback and part of him wants to just to see his face, but another part of him wants to get home as soon as possible and Lacus would put up a fight..

"Mika, unlock the door!"

Mika unlocks the doors and they both clamber into the backseat and he takes the driver's. "You're _both_ going to sit in the backseat?"

"Yeah, the mood you've been in lately, you might randomly stab one of us."

"Haha." He can't wait to be alone.

~~~~~  
Mika pulls into his driveway and unlocks the front door, stepping out of the way before Lacus runs him over in his haste to get inside.

Lacus drops his gun on the floor and collapses with a groan, "I'm fucking exhausted and this blood is gross."

"Lacus! Don't leave your gun in the floor," Mika scolds. "Someone could step on it and blow their foot off!

"Someone…..like Yuu?" Rene questions.

"Not not me, I know it's there, someone who doesn't."

Rene shakes his head, "Not you, someone like _Yuu_ ," and he nods over Mikaela's shoulder. Mikaela whirls around and sees Yuu standing there in shock.

"Yuu-chan! What are you doing here?!"

"What am I doing here?" Yuu gives a small laugh, "Why do you guys have guns and why's there blood?"

"Shit," Lacus says, "someone hand me my gun."

Mikaela kicks the gun farther away and glares at him before turning back to Yuu who has backed away from them. "I'll explain once they leave."

"We're not going anywhere, Mika," Rene states, "this concerns us too."

"Fine, let's go to my room. I'll explain there." Yuu looks uncertain, but follows him rather than stay in the room with the other two who are apparently a lot more dangerous than he thought.

"We'll be waiting here when you're done."

"Okay."

"And I'll have my gun back by then!"

"Shut up Lacus!"

Mika takes a seat at his desk and gestures Yuu to the couch. "So….I can explain."

Yuu stares at him, "Explain why you killed someone over drugs?"

Mika blinks, "What?"

"You have guns and there was blood, you killed someone...over drugs."

"Where did you get that idea? We don't sell drugs."

"You don't?"

"No, drugs are dangerous. Krul would kill me if I ever used them." The irony of him calling something dangerous isn't lost on him.

"Then… what…?"

"You thought we were drug dealers?"

"It all seemed to fit."

Mika shakes his head, "We don't sell drugs Yuu-chan. Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you and tell that you that I knew, but I guess I was wrong."

"How did you get in here?"

"Krul let me in, but she got a call and maybe there was some kind of emergency, so she ran out. I guess she forgot I was here before she left."

"Oh. I should probably call and see if everything's okay. Um, I'll see you at school?"

Yuu jumps up, "Are you _actually_ trying to get rid of me right now?! After what I just saw?!"

"Is it working?" Mika asks cautiously.

"No, it's not! It's making me want to hit you!"

"Okay okay fine," Mika comes over to the couch and takes Yuu's hand, pulling him back down with him. "Yuu-chan...you have to _promise_ not to tell _anyone_ if I tell you. _No one,_ Yuu-chan."

"Promise!"

"You didn't even think about it!"

Yuu considers for a moment, "Okay I promise."

Mika sighs, "Yuu-chan, this is serious, if people find out you know, you could be killed."

"Mika, it's okay." Yuu brings his hand to Mika's cheek and stares earnestly into his cerulean eyes, "It's only bad if they find out I know and I have no plans to tell anyone, so it's fine, right? Trust me."

He stares back into those emerald irises and feels his hesitance fading, he really is such a sucker for Yuu. "I'm...part of an organization and I do certain tasks that I'm assigned. Some of them get a little violent sometimes hence the guns and blood."

Yuu furrows his eyebrows, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes, but I'm well trained. We all are, we have to be able to take care of ourselves out there."

Yuu nods slowly, "That...makes sense. Is it illegal?"

"Some of it, yes."

"I don't know whether to be relieved or not. You're not a drug dealer, but you guys are still doing illegal shit."

"I know, but people are always listening and I really didn't want to involve you in this. I don't want you killed."

"You guys are like spies, huh?"

"No, Yuu-chan," Mika shakes his head. "Spies are the good guys," he says softly.

"You're...not?"

"Not at all. It's not an opposing organization that would kill you, it's ours. Our secrets are closely guarded to keep everyone's facades clear. When an outsider, one not part of us finds out, they're killed before they can incriminate anyone or tell anyone anything."

"So, they'd kill me to protect themselves." Mika inclines his head. "Would they kill you too?"

"If they found out I was the breach, yeah. And I don't want to leave Krul alone."

"How could they kill one of their own?"

"If I break the rules, then technically I'm not really one of them anymore, am I?"

Yuu pauses, "I won't tell anyone, but in return you have to answer any questions I ask you whenever."

Mika tilts his head, "Isn't the fact that I told you enough, especially since you just promised not to tell?"

"You wouldn't have to told me if I hadn't caught you. Besides, if we're together, I want to know what's happening. I don't want to be left in the dark worrying if something happens to you."

Mika smiles and squeezes his hands around Yuu's, "I've done fine this far."

"Yeah and I've done fine so far not knowing you at all, but now I do," Yuu says pointedly. Mika looks away guiltily, dropping Yuu's hands. Yuu reaches for his face to bring Mika's gaze back to his, "I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying things happen, so let me be there for you."

Mika sighs and Yuu takes that as acceptance, giving him a cheerful kiss. "Let's go tell Lacus and Rene, they're not gonna like this."

"Doesn't matter, I'm here with you and I do." Mika shakes his head, Yuu is so earnest, but he still doesn't _really_ know _._ The combination is likely to land him in trouble, but Mika will do all he can to protect Yuu.

They enter the living room and are met with the end of Lacus' gun and his displeased expression. Rene's sitting on the other couch and his hands are empty, but he's just as tense. "Put it down Lacus."

"What do you mean 'put it down?' What if he runs?"

"He's not going to run. I told him."

"You _what?_ "

"Lacus, he saw us. What else was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, how about _lie_? Mika, if this gets out, we're dead, all of us. We can only take so much, stop dragging us down with you!"

Yuu steps in front of Mika, shielding him from Lacus' anger. "I can make my own decisions. I decided I wanted to know and I'm not going to endanger his life by telling someone. Mika trusts me and I'm not going to break my promise to him."

"Just shut up and get out."

Mika cuts off his angry retort by dragging him over to the door, "You probably really should leave before Krul comes back and remembers she left you here, then it won't matter what you promised."

Yuu looks back over Mika's shoulder to the other two boys, "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, especially once they aren't looking at you anymore."

He nods and cups Mika's face bringing him in for a quick kiss, "Call me later."

Mika gives his assent and once Yuu's gone, Lacus and Rene both turn to stare at him. "What?"

"If this goes South…" Lacus drags a finger across his neck and points at Mika.

"It'll be fine," Mika says with more enthusiasm than he actually has.

"We don't know _anything._ Come on Rene, let's go."

Mika sincerely hopes everything will be fine because if this gets out, Krul couldn't show them any mercy and Mika's honestly not sure he could survive it or if he'd even want to.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

* * *

Mikaela feels so much lighter since Yuuichirou found out. Mika didn't tell him everything, but now he doesn't have to lie to him anymore, nor did Yuu break up with him and that in itself is enough to fill Mika with joy, so much that he can't stop smiling despite the sour looks Rene and Lacus are giving him. He's just too ecstatic and he can't wait to see Yuu again after this.

He won't say everything's perfect because it's not. Now, Yuu worries about him and asks even more questions than before, there's also the risk that someone will find out that Yuu knows. He doesn't think that Yuu realizes the full extent of what exactly he does, but so far he's taking it in stride after the disastrous way he found out. What does worry Mika is the fact that Yuu seems to want to protect him and if he tries to do that, he might just end up getting himself hurt, that's the last thing Mika wants.

He impressed on him the importance of keeping everything a secret and if he does, then everything should be fine. He's not telling anyone that Yuu now knows and it's a pretty high chance Lacus and Rene won't either, since they didn't kill him that day, it makes them accessories. So, everything should be fine for now.

"Mika! Quit grinning like an idiot and get your head out of the clouds!" He looks over at Lacus who's scowling at him. "You're even worse now than when you were depressed."

"I can't help that I'm a happy person."

Rene snorts and Lacus stares at Mika, "Hah! Since when?"

"Since always, your face has just been making me sad lately."

Mka ignores whatever retort Lacus came up with and glances at his watch, it's almost time. Earlier they had strategically placed several gas bombs in different locations inside the building, then sat back to wait for the meeting to begin. He's not exactly enthusiastic about this order. This was a request from a different branch and Krul didn't want to get involved, but staying in the good graces of another branch would go a long way.

Over 30 people, this would be the largest group of people their small group of three had ever taken out. Fortunately, there was no need for faces or names, they were just nameless people Mika would never have to see or know about. At least that's what he told himself to deal with the guilt from the many families he was about to ruin.

About 30 minutes into the meeting, enough gas would have been released to paralyze all the people inside or at least slow them down considerably. That's when they'd light the fire and the entire building would go up in flames. Security on the building was tight, so the windows were painted shut and they'd made sure that the stairs would burn the fastest, but likely no one would reach them anyway. The smoke inhalation would get them long before they'd ever be able to fight the effects of the gas.

Rene hands him a bag of chips as they watch the line of men greeting each other and entering the building unaware it's the last time they ever will. Sometimes, Mika just wishes Krul would step down, so they could live a normal life. He doesn't know all the logistics, but it's probably not that simple. Though it doesn't keep him from wishing. He has no idea what will happen when he reaches college age, if he'll be able to go or have to stay in town. He would love to be roommates with Yuu, but the way things are going that may not be possible.

Speaking of Yuu, he's supposed to be at his house after this to 'officially' meet his friends. According to him, since he now knows Mika's secrets and what he does when they're not together, he should return the favor and Mika should get to know his friends. Mika's not exactly enthusiastic about it, but he's happy that it means Yuu wants them to be closer. Fortunately, his friends won't be there the whole evening, then it'll just be them.

Mika snaps back to attention when Rene pulls out a small ball, the fuse is inside and once it's lit, you have about 45 seconds to get away. Lacus goes to grab it, protesting that he should be the one to throw it, Rene simply punches him in the chest effectively cutting him off before tossing the ball just far enough for it to reach a stop against the building.

30 seconds later, the fire catches and the building erupts in flames. There's no one banging on the windows and no one screaming inside, just the sight and sound of the fire burning, guess the gas worked. As the flames get higher, Mika stares in awe. It's a strangely fascinating sight and the warmth reminds him of being with Yuu at the campfire a few weeks ago. Hmm, that was a good night.

"Mika, you're smiling at the fire, don't tell me you've turned into a sociopath...unless you're thinking about Yuuichirou...again."

Mika frowns, "I'm not a sociopath, the fire just reminded me of something." He coughs as the wind carries ash into their group, using his shirt to cover his mouth and nose, "We should probably get out of here."

"Yeah, we finished what we came to do. How come you didn't ride with us here?"

"I'm going to Yuu-chan's house afterwards."

Lacus rolls his eyes, "Of course. Covered in ash?"

Mika frowns and shakes his clothes out, "All clear."

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow."

~~~~~  
30 minutes later, Mika's awkwardly standing on Yuu's front porch mentally preparing himself for the night. He isn't looking forward to this, but he'll do it for Yuu's sake. He's still gathering his nerves when the door swings open and he comes face to face with Yoichi's surprised expression.

"Uh hey Mikaela? Yuu didn't say you were here yet."

"I just got here."

Yoichi steps to the side, "Come in, everyone's in the living room. I was just going to get something from my car." Mika nods, stepping inside, slipping off his shoes, and shuffling towards the living room. Yuu lights up when he sees Mikaela hovering in the doorway, running over to grab him in a hug.

"You made it!"

"Of course."

Yuu pauses and sniffs before questioning Mika in a low voice, "You smell like smoke, what were you doing?"

"Just finishing something up for Krul."

"Was it dangerous?"

"Everything is dangerous, Yuu-chan."

"Mika…"

"Come on, your friends are waiting."

Mika enters the living room and exchanges greetings with everyone, not missing Shinoa's displeased expression. He takes a seat on one of the couches with Yuu sitting next to him and Yoichi joining them a minute later. Yuu explains that they were watching a movie while waiting for him to arrive to start the games.

Shorty after, they head to the kitchen where a stack of games has been put out and start setting up, idle chat in between. Surprisingly enough, it's Kimizuki that Mika ends up talking to the most, he has a lot of questions and Mika's never really had any experience with him, so his curiosity isn't really unexpected. Mika glances over at the stack of games and sincerely hopes they don't intend to play every single one.

It's sometime later in the night and Mika has apparently severely underestimated how long they would stay because it's been hours and they're _still here._ It hasn't been unpleasant and no one, besides the obvious, seems to harbor any negative feelings towards him, so they get along well, it's nowhere near as comfortable as hanging out with his own friends, but it's a start and of course he's doing it for Yuu.

Somehow they've ended up playing Life and Mika's near the end after just finishing his turn with only his piece and another little blue piece, unofficially dubbed Yuu-chan, in his car when Shinoa makes her comment.

"Must be easy to make it to the end quickly when you don't have to worry about other family members."

"...What?"

"When your only priority is yourself, I'm surprised 'Yuu-chan' didn't fall out of the car, get run over, and left for dead near the beginning,"

He knew the peace couldn't last. "Of course I'd do everything I could to keep him in the car, I'd be hurt if I lost 'Yuu-chan'."

"Yeah, death _is_ a very hurtful thing. I was so depressed after my sister was killed." The atmosphere at the table shifts immediately with the others beginning to squirm uncomfortably at the tension, but still continuing to play.

"Killed?!" Yuu interrupts, "You never mentioned that."

"I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Are you really, Mika?"

"Of course he is! Why wouldn't he be?"

"I'm surprised, I didn't think you had the capacity to feel sympathy for other people."

"Shinoa! What is with you?"

"I may not feel any sympathy for you, but I feel love and I love Yuu-chan. Since you're his friend and it obviously makes you sad, he feels sympathy which makes me sorry for you. So, I suppose you're right I can't feel sympathy for someone I don't care about."

"Heartless bastard."

Mika shrugs, "If I didn't have a heart, I couldn't love Yuu-chan."

"If you really loved him, you would leave him alone."

"Enough!" Yuu exclaims, "Can't you two just try to get along? We're supposed to be getting to know each other."

Mika shrugs, "I was," he replies, playing his last turn and sitting back to wait for everyone else to finish. Why would she bring that up now of all times? He swears it's like Shinoa has no sense of the danger she puts herself in by talking about shit like that. She claims she wants to protect Yuu, but she's not helping anyone by saying things like that.

He sighs, he could really use a distraction from this. Mika glances over at Yuu and notes his changed body language and the distracted expression as if he's trying to decipher the meaning behind their conversation. Mika moves over to sit in Yuu's lap and lean back against him, might as well be comfortable while he waits for the game to wrap up.

Yuu grips his hips and whispers, "What are you doing?"

"You guys are going to take forever, this way I still get to be close to you. Do you want me to move?" Mika whispers back.

"Nah, it's fine," he says rubbing his thumbs against Mika's lower back.

"Yuu! It's your turn, go!" Mitsuba yells.

He startles and quickly takes his turn before bringing his hand back to Mika's waist. It takes him a few turns to notice how Mika's been shifting against him and how it's becoming harder for him to stay still. Somehow Mika' gone from the front of his thighs to right over his crotch and he won't stop fidgeting. Yuu grips his waist harder to keep him from moving, but Mika just glances back at him with a confused look before moving again.

Mika's shifting is starting to create a problem and part of him wants to shove Mika off his lap, but the other part doesn't want to reveal himself. If he had any doubt that Mika didn't know what he was doing, it disappeared the moment he felt him shaking lightly with concealed laughter, which coincidentally was also not helping his problem. God, Mika did that knowing his friends were right there and he'd be stuck.

Yuu's hands have a death grip on Mika's waist as he starts to make small movements side to side across Yuu's crotch, he's sure his face is on fire and he's starting to break into a sweat, he kind of wants to die right now. If he ends up coming in his pants right now, he'll never live it down, granted it's never happened before, but he's also never been in this situation before. Apparently Mika has no problem having Yuu's erection pressed against his ass because he hasn't even tried to get up.

He's so thankful when the game wraps up and they start grabbing their things to leave. He's trying to figure out how to discreetly show his friends out when Mika gets up sooner than he's ready. Yuu's eyes widen in alarm and he mutters out a quick goodbye before taking off up the stairs before anyone can notice his problem.

"What was that about?" Kimizuki questions.

"Did you not see Mika practically giving Yuu a lap dance at the table?" Shinoa answers sarcastically.

"Uh...no?"

"I mean, he was kind of being subtle about it, but all you had to do was look at them to know plus Yuu's face started turning red which made it really obvious."

Kimizuki turned to look at Mika who smiled, but said nothing, just waited for them to leave before shutting the door and going after Yuu.

Mika enters Yuu's room and gives a small laugh when he sees Yuu laying on his bed in misery with a pillow over his lap. He shuts the door and makes his way to the bed, taking a seat next to him.

"What are _you_ doing up here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm not."

"Then it's a good thing I came, isn't it."

Yuu glances over at him, "I don't know, you might make it worse."

Mika gives him a smile, "I'll try not to." He removes the pillow and cautiously plucks at the bottom of Yuu's shirt, taking note of just how tense Yuu is and how his whole body stiffens when he lays his palm flat against Yuu's stomach just above his waist. Yuu's staring at him and there's a lot of anxiety in his eyes, although he hasn't moved away. He gives him another reassuring smile before sliding his hand down below his boxers to wrap around Yuu's hardened member, smiling inwardly when he feels Yuu shudder. "Relax, Yuu-chan, it'll feel better if you're not so tense."

"Easy for you to say," Yuu replies, hips twitching as Mika begins moving his hand in slow strokes from top to bottom.

"Do you have lube?" Yuu shakes his head and nods towards the bottle of lotion on his dresser. Mika grabs it and returns, "You should get some."

"I'm not buying...ngh... _lube_ ," he replies as Mika rubs lotion down his length.

"I'll go with you. It'll be fun," Mika says, smirking as Yuu's fingers grab the sheets in an iron grip.

" _Shut up_ ," Yuu hisses out.

Mika laughs before stretching out next to Yuu, keeping his pace on Yuu's member consistent. Yuu opens his legs wider to give Mika more room, switching his hands from the sheets to Mika's sides. He can feel his nails digging into Mika's sides, but he'd rather hold onto him than the sheets. Mika's leaving open mouthed kisses down the side of his neck, increasing the pace of his stroking as he goes and it's all Yuu can do to hold on and try to keep from groaning too loudly.

"You don't have to be quiet, Yuu-chan," Mika whispers against the wetness on his neck.

Yuu shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut. He's close and he knows it. He's never had someone else's hands on him before, so he's not surprised he isn't going to last long. Mika gives another quick stroke and that's it for Yuu. His whole body tightens up and he spills inside his boxers, panting as Mika strokes him through his orgasm.

He falls back against the bed, hands dropping from Mika to lay limply at his side. "See, I didn't make it worse," Mika murmurs against his neck.

Yuu groans in response, shoving at him when he feels Mika's fingers spreading his seed against his length. "Mika, gross, don't play with it."

"It's not gross, it's yours Yuu-chan."

"I don't care." Yuu yanks Mika's hand from his pants. "Don't wipe your fingers on me!"

Mika laughs, "Then what else am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know! I didn't tell you to touch it!" He won't deny it felt really really good, but now his release is cooling and it's sticky on his thighs making his boxers stick to him uncomfortably. "Let me up, I need to change."

"You're seriously going to leave me right now?"

"I'll be right back, I just want to take these off."

"You can do that here."

"And put on clean ones."

Mika turns to the side and Yuu hops up, awkwardly waddling to the bathroom, ignoring Mika's laughter. He wets a towel and quickly strips his lower half before cleaning himself up. Gross, Mika wiped it on his stomach, he's such an ass sometimes.

Yuu flips on the TV as he makes it way back over to the bed, now in fresh boxers. He settles down next to Mika against the headboard, throwing a wet towel at him, face still a bit red and unable to meet his eyes. He's taken a bath with Mika, but now he's suddenly shy? It kind of makes sense he reasons, it's not like Mika was touching him in the tub and this...was a deeper stage of intimacy. One that was completely unexpected, so it's not surprising he was nervous. He ignores Mika's smirk, searching for anything to let his eyes land on, finally stopping on the TV. It's on the news and as he gradually relaxes, the words become clear and he almost wishes he couldn't hear.

The reporter is in front of a extinguished building that's still surrounded by ambulances and fire trucks, reporting that no one survived. A body count of 32 and they don't know the details yet, but it seems like there was no struggle to escape the flames, everyone just sat there and died. They're contemplating mass suicide, but the many crying family members insist there was nothing wrong for them to all kill themselves.

Yuu glances over at Mika to ask his opinion, but he's not looking at the TV or Yuu, in fact he seems to be doing his best to keep his gaze solely focused on a spot on the wall and oh shit….Mika smelled like ash when he first got here. Yuu sincerely hopes it's not true, but the expression on Mika's face leads him to believe otherwise. "Is that what you were doing before you got here?" No answer. "Mika, tell me!" Yuu's shout is met with continued silence. "I guess that's my answer then."

There's no possible excuse Mika could give Yuu validate their deaths because it's bad no matter how you look at it. All those families ruined, what can he say? I was just following orders? They weren't innocent either? No, those excuses would just make it seem like he was trying to avoid blame, but it was his decision to follow the orders or not. He squeezes his hands into fists, god, he can't even bring himself to look at Yuu right now.

Yuu takes in Mika's clenched fists and tense posture, it's like he's completely shut down. Yuu takes a breath and tries to calm himself. This is probably one of the reasons Mika wanted to keep him in the dark, so he wouldn't know about things like this. If he's accusatory about this now, Mika won't tell him anything in the future and they'll be almost back to square one.

"Hey," Yuu reaches out to grab his fist, firmly uncurling his fingers, "Is this what you meant by you aren't the good guys?" A curt nod. "It's okay," he soothes, trying to get Mika to relax. "It's bad, really bad, but you're also not the one who targeted them."

Mika turns to stare at him, "You don't have to try and comfort me, I know what I did. I helped kill those people."

"I know you did too. I'm saying, sometimes we do things that we don't necessarily want to do and...it probably makes it easier if we don't know them too."

"Yeah…"

"I can't blame you for doing what you were told to do."

"You're so naive Yuu-chan, but still far too good for me."

"Well, someone has to be there for you and if you keep holding everything inside, you're going to fall apart. Let me help you."

Mika sighs and gives a small smile, "You're too much Yuu-chan."

"Maybe, but you have to tell me things and stop worrying I'll leave. I promise I won't leave you, so believe in me. It's worse when I find out this way." Mika pauses before giving a short nod, he doesn't know if Mika will actually listen to him, but for now Yuu inwardly relaxes, crisis averted. However he still doesn't understand what motivates Mika to continue to do this if he doesn't like it, he seriously doubts Krul would kick him out, he knows too much. "...Why?"

Mikaela settles himself cross legged between Yuu's legs, placing each one of Yuu's legs on one of his thighs. "Krul adopted me because she needed someone she could trust."

"Trust?" Yuu questions.

"Yeah, in her world people can't be trusted. You never know who could stab you in the back and she wanted someone she could unequivocally rely on."

"So, she picked a child?"

"An unloved child who was thrown from the car by his parents and lived in an orphanage with no friends. She took him in and gave him everything including a home. How could that not inspire unwavering loyalty?"

"And you were happy?"

"As happy as I could be, I suppose. She loves me, but she wasn't actually the maternal type with affection that I wanted."

"That explains why you're so affectionate."

"I am not," Mika protests.

Yuu raises an eyebrow, "Look where you're sitting."

Mikaela flushes and begins moving back, but Yuu locks his ankles together behind Mika's waist. "I didn't say I minded, I'm just saying it makes sense why you like touching so much, even before we started dating."

Mika scoots forward and wraps his arms around him burying his face in Yuu's neck, "Only with some people Yuu-chan," he murmurs.

Yuu tightens his legs around Mikaela and reaches up to run his hands through the soft blonde strands, "That's fine with me," he replies just as softly. "Guren was lonely, I think that's why he adopted me. He traveled a lot in the army and his girlfriend had died, so he didn't really have anyone. Apparently, the day he came to the orphanage, he overheard them talking about me, how I'd been taken from my parents, how I didn't listen, didn't talk to people, and was aggressive.

Then when he was observing us, he saw me and apparently figured I had the right traits. I had no ties to anyone there and was a loner, so moving around a lot wouldn't be a problem. I was eight and aggressive, so he figured for the most part I could take care of myself and I'd have similar athletic and fighting interests as him. It was a done deal.

He got me a three weeks later, told me to say bye, and we left the country. I spent the next 6 years being dragged wherever Guren was stationed and tossed into the closest school that happened to teach in our language in the area. In between, he trained me to fight, use guns, and all the other physical things he does to keep his mind focused.

About two years ago, they gave him the option of a permanent station and he picked this city because he has a friend here."

Yuu stretches his arms, "It was unbelievably hard catching up on the school work from being bounced around. I had so many tutors. The only thing Guren bothered to make sure I knew was how to read, because according to him, then you could teach yourself everything else. It was a long year."

Mika silently listens to Yuu speak and thinks how lucky he is. He's done a lot of bad things and Yuu is still accepting and trying to make him feel better about it. He really doesn't deserve him, but he's so _so_ happy he has him. "Yuu-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

* * *

Yuu thought it would be easier knowing why Mika was evasive of his questions and always disappearing, but in some ways it's worse. Before, it was a little worrying but mostly frustrating. Now, he worries more because one day Mika might get himself killed and he would never know what happened or get to say goodbye, he wouldn't even be able to ask for the truth because that would mean he knows more than he should. The issue that he's helpless to do anything for him also doesn't help in the least.

He's not going to lie, the fact Mika helped kill 32 people is unnerving. He didn't ask for the full details of what Mika does, but now he's thinking it may be far worse than what he imagined. 32 people...how did they even get them to not resist? The cops said it seemed like they just sat there and died. If this is the kind of shit they get caught up in, then Shinoa was even more right than he thought. Which also begs the question, how did _she_ know what Mika was involved in?

 **[shinoa?]**

 **[what]**

 **[thanks for trying to protect me]**

 **[does that mean you'll listen to me now?]**

 **[no, but it means i understand what you were thinking]**

 **[if you understand, then you should** _ **want**_ **to listen to me]**

 **[it's too late now]**

 **[whats that supposed to mean? Whatd you do?!]**

 **[i haven't done anything! i promised mika i wouldnt leave him and i wont]**

 **[yuu! you're so damn stubborn! this is why guren worries about you!]**

 **[he worries about me? I dont even see him much anymore, how do you know?]**

 **[he's busy at work and you dont tell him anything, so he asks Shinya for information]**

 **[stop telling shinya shit about me!]**

 **[guren doesn't like leaving you alone so much]**

 **[well now i have mika]**

 **[now he should worry more]**

 **[...did you tell him about mika?]**

 **[he asked...but i didn't tell him much, just my feelings about him]**

 **[ugh! how do you know about him anyway?]**

 **[i can't say]**

 **[right. should i stay away from you too?]**

 **[no! I'm not involved, i just hear things. yuu, i'll ask you one more time, please break it off with him]**

 **[i'm sorry shinoa i can't]**

 **[what kind of flowers do you want at your funeral?]**

 **[ha ha]**

 **[i'll make sure to tell everyone how stubborn you were]**

 **[whatever shinoa, i'm not going to get killed]**

 **[RIP]**

Yuu sighs and tosses his phone aside, he's not going to tell anyone, so he's not worried about himself, just Mika. It's surprising how fast and how much he's come to care for him. A few months ago he never would have imagined he'd be in a relationship with someone whose job could get them killed any day, the thought makes his heart ache. He doesn't want to go back to then, what would he do without Mika?

Speaking of which, he misses his flaxen haired boyfriend. They should be about finished with their assignment by now and Mika's never one to turn down spending time with him, he may as well go meet him at his house.

 **~~~~~  
** "Mika, don't let anyone escape."

"Who's going to run?"

"Just don't zone out like you've been doing recently."

"I have not."

Lacus raises an eyebrow, "The fire?"

Mika waves a dismissive hand, "I've got it." He takes his position facing the door once he hears their footsteps trail off. He can't blame them for relegating him to keeping guard, he has had a few missteps recently and Lacus absolutely does not want a handler, at least they still trust him to do this much. It's not bad though, Mika doesn't always have the stomach for their particular style of work and not having to see it, much less participate in it, isn't a bad thing.

He wonders if Yuu would still be so accepting if he _really_ knew how bad things could get. The fire was a painless death that kept their hands clean. Other times, they use a more hands on approach and Yuu's feelings for him can only stretch so far before they break. He told him that he'd be more honest, but there's no way he can be completely open with Yuu and still keep him.

Mika's startled from his thoughts when he feels someone ram into his shoulder. When he catches sight of the culprit, he curses, he was caught off guard just like Lacus thought. He quickly goes after the man, catching him just before he reaches the doorway and tackling him to the ground, pinning his arms down, but unknowingly leaving his head free to ram into the side of his face.

He's been trained well enough to keep his grip despite the pain in his face. The man doesn't give up though and continues ramming his head back into him, he can't focus on anything but the increasing pain in his face and the stars in his vision to figure out a way out of the situation and his head to starting to ache from the repeated bashings to his face.

Mika's about to call for help when he feels someone lift him up by his underarms, letting go of the man's arms when he sees Rene get an arm around his neck squeezing tight. Then it must be Lacus who's now holding him by the waist. Rene looks up at him while squeezing the life from the man, "That was pretty bad Mika."

"Yep!" Lacus agrees, hooking his chin over Mika's shoulder to watch Rene choke the man. "You just let him bash your face in!"

"I wasn't expecting him to fight back."

"Of course he did, we're trying to kill him. Did you think he was just going to lay there silently after running?"

"I wasn't really thinking about it," Mika admitted.

"Zoning out like I told you not to?" Lacus tsks, "You've gotten slow Mika, maybe you should go back to Ferid for more training."

"Like hell! This was a fluke, he caught me off guard."

"Right."

"Shut up. Why are you holding me anyway?"

"I'm being nice for your sake since the minute I let go, I know I'm going to laugh at your face cause I know he fucked it up."

"You're such an ass. Let go."

Lacus squeezes tighter, "It may also be because we let him go on purpose to see if you were paying attention and to no one's surprise, you weren't."

"You what! He could've given me a concussion!"

"Only because you weren't paying attention," Rene reasons. "Otherwise you would have been able to take him down easily...without getting hit in the face, which is swelling up by the way." Rene lets the man's limp body drop to the floor, "You have to focus, we need to be able to rely on you. If you don't pull it together, we _will_ say you need more training. I won't be compromised because you're distracted."

"What he said," Lacus agrees, letting go of him.

"You guys, I _promise_ I'll be better. You don't have to worry about me being the weakest link."

Lacus pats his shoulder, "You'll always be the weakest link, that's life, but don't tell us, _show_ us. We'd hate to have to get a different partner this late into the game."

"Promise." And he really means it, they've already done a lot for him and he has been letting himself get more distracted lately, a dangerous position with the things they do. He feels a pang of guilt in his stomach when he thinks about everything that could have happened because he wasn't paying attention the last few weeks, they've all been lucky, but that's not something they should have to rely on.

"Come on, let's get ice on the way home, your face is making mine hurt."

~~~~~~  
Yuu sees Rene pull up and he's immediately out of his car, running to meet Mika, but coming up short when he sees Mika's purple bruised face. "What the hell happened to your face?" He blurts out.

"Nothing," Mika waves goodbye to Lacus and Rene, turning his face away from Yuu.

"That's not nothing, half your face is swollen!" Yuu protests reaching up to touch the bruising.

"Ouch Yuu-chan!" He recoils, "Don't touch it!" Mika spins away and heads into his house for an ice pack, letting out a relieved sigh when he presses it to his face and settles on the couch.

"Mika, what happened?"

Mika sighs before giving him a break down of where everything went wrong and graciously pointing out that it was partially his fault too for not paying attention. Yuu's listening, but he can feel his anger building. What the hell were they thinking? If they thought Mika wasn't paying attention, then that was the worst way to prove it. Yuu wants to throttle them and he's had enough.

He hates his uselessness to help Mika and those two apparently can't be trusted. Who's going to have Mika's back if they turn on him? No one! Next time they decide to see if he's paying attention, Mika could end up with more than just a bruised and swollen face. Yuu won't let that happen. He may not fully understand what he's getting into, but he's not going to wait on the sidelines anymore.

"Mika."

"...what?"

"If you don't let me join you, I _will_ break up with you."

He stares at Yuu with shocked eyes, the ice pack dropping from his hands. "Yuu-chan, you can't, I-I mean you wouldn't…" Mika looks absolutely crushed, but Yuu stands firm. He's going to join them whether Mika likes it or not. He pushes Mika away from him ignoring his heartbroken expression.

"I will. If I'm dating you, you should be able to rely on me for help."

"But this is dangerous! Letting you join means putting you at risk."

"Like you put yourself every time you go?" Yuu can see Mikaela waging an internal war between what he wants and what he feels is right, it could take forever to convince him if Yuu lets him think about it. "I'm leaving," Yuuichirou heads to the door.

"Wait!" Mikaela calls and Yuu can see the unshed tears in his eyes.

"Nope, there's nothing to wait for." Shit, now Mikaela is crying, tears streaming down his cheeks, Yuu hates that. He runs back over to him, wrapping his arms around him, and pressing Mika's head against his chest. "Ah, don't cry. It'll be fine," he consoles. Mika shakes his head and squeezes him tighter. "Seriously it will."

Mika pulls back and looks at him with wet eyes, "Does that mean you're not going to break up with me?"

"No, I'm still breaking up with you. I just don't like seeing you cry."

"Then don't make me choose!"

"Not an option." Yuu pulls Mika back into his chest. He knows Mikaela and it makes him feel a little guilty, but he's learned how to manipulate him into doing what he wants. "You know I love you, right?" He can't make out Mika's response, but that doesn't matter, he's still struggling between protecting Yuu and being selfish.

A little nudge onto the selfish side is all he needs, Yuu leaves a lingering kiss on the crown of Mika's head and loosens his arms, just to give him a reminder of what he'll be losing if he doesn't assent and according to Lacus and Rene, it's something he's wanted for a while. Mika's grip tightens and Yuu curls his fingers into the delicate hairs at the nape of his neck, he's almost positive he's got him now.

Mika mumbles something unintelligible into his shirt. "What was that? I can't hear you, but I think Guren needs me home soon." He pushes Mika back and looks into his red swollen eyes.

"Fine."

"Fine, you're okay with me leaving?"

"No! You can join, but you _have_ to listen to me. And you can't tell anyone."

Yuu breaks into a grin, "I promise!"

"Lacus and Rene are going to kill me," Mika mutters.

"I'm sure we can take them. I _am_ here for you to rely on!"

Mika tackles him to the ground. "This is all your fault."

Yuu ruffles Mika's hair, there's a lot he could say to that, but he knows Mikaela's just aggravated at him, so he chooses to ignore it. "You want me to stay the night?"

"Yes, but I have to go meet Krul, so you can't. I thought Guren needed you home, anyway?"

"Nah."

"You're terrible."


	14. Chapter 14

Kind of a late update, had to find time to proofread it. Is anyone even still reading this? lol.

Chapter 13

* * *

Yuu shows up to his house happy and carefree, as if he didn't force Mika into bringing him along and to make matters worse, he has a teddy bear with him. Black with green eyes and similar in style to the ones in his room, Mika loves it immediately.

"Giving me a bear won't make me forgive you."

"But does it help?"

Mika stroked one of the bear's ears, "…Yeah I guess."

"Then we're all good!"

"No, but we're better than Lacus and Rene will be when they see you."

"Have you told them?"

"No, it'll be a surprise."

When he shows up for the next assignment with Yuu in tow, they are understandably pissed. Even Rene's usual blank expression has been replaced with one of annoyance.

"What the fuck is this, Mika?"

"Yuu-chan wanted to join us."

"Join us? Mika, this isn't a club where you can just join. Our lives are on the line!"

"Believe me Lacus, I know."

"Really? Cause sometimes I don't think you have a single fucking clue."

"Isn't it better this way? Yuu-chan already knows, so if he's with us, there's less chance he'll turn on us," Mika reasons.

They stare at him for a second before Rene turns to Yuuichirou, "What did you do?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"Mika would never let you participate if something that could get you hurt...unless he had no choice. So, I'll ask again, what did you do?"

Yuu sighs, but it doesn't look like Rene is backing down. "I said I'd break up with him if he didn't let me," he finally mutters out.

"That's seriously the reason you brought him along?!" Lacus exclaims. "How selfish can you be? You should've let him break up with you!"

"I know," Mika responds quietly. It's something he's been struggling with since he began actively talking with Yuu, knowing it was a bad idea. He deserves every bit of Lacus' berating for letting it get this far, but after finally getting to be with Yuu, the thought of losing him so soon was more than he could bear.

"Lacus," Rene places a hand on his shoulder, "We don't have time for this right now. Let him come and we'll deal with it later."

"Thanks guys!" Lacus gives Yuu a dirty look, but doesn't respond and Yuu squeezes Mika's hand with a reassuring smile. They follow Lacus' stalking figure to his SUV where he gives Yuu a vague breakdown of the assignment.

A loose end has been arrested and he hasn't divulged information yet, but an inside source said that he's going to take the plea bargain and reveal what he knows for a fine and no time in jail. Their job is to make sure that doesn't happen and to convince him the plea bargain is not in his best interest, so they're going to make a visit to his daughter first.

"You're not going to kill her, right?" Yuu asks nervously.

"Of course not, Yuu-chan! We're just letting him know that confessing could endanger his daughter."

"And how will you do that?"

"A few quick pictures of her, that's all."

"Which _you_ will be in," Lacus interjects.

"Huh?"

"What good does it do to take pictures from afar? We're letting him know we already have access to her, not that we _could._ You wanted to come with us, you can make yourself useful and maybe we won't dump your dead body on the way."

"What if he tells someone?"

"We're showing him pictures, not giving them to him, that would leave evidence. Think about it, jeez."

"Lacus is really saying he'll also have evidence against you if you betray us later."

"Exactly."

"I already said that I'm not going to tell anyone!"

"Insurance."

Yuu makes a noise of frustration and falls back in his seat. He can't really blame them for not trusting him, they barely know him and that's only because Mika brings him around. To them, he's just a wild card with too much influence on their teammate and sometimes Yuu's not entirely sure if Lacus is joking when he talks about his death. He can't say he's positive Lacus wouldn't have shot him when he first saw them had Mika not intervened. Mika may trust them, but he trusts them the same amount they trust him.

"Yuu!" Lacus yells, stopping the car beside a park. "You see that red head girl in the blue? Go make nice."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Don't know, don't care. I would've brought candy, but that's a fast way to get the cops called. If you mess up, we're ditching you."

"What?! That's not fair, I'm not a professional child abductor like you!"

"Get ready to learn."

"Yuu-chan, it's okay. It's not that big a deal. Give her a sucker and tell her you're supposed to watch her while her nanny goes to the bathroom. Talk to her, push her on the swings and you're done."

"Oh yeah? And where's the nanny going to be."

"She'll be fine, me and Rene will be talking to her. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Yuu watches Mika follow after Rene and avoids Lacus intense staring for him to get out. His palms are sweating the whole walk into the park and he's terrified at any minute a parent will call him out for being suspicious. He glances back at Lacus who waves his camera and gives him the finger, no encouragement from there.

He's pretty sure his voice cracks several times with nerves and the girl is suspicious of him, but somehow they've gotten the nanny to indicate it's okay and she's actually walking away, he can only wonder what they told her.

After that, it's pretty simple, she takes the sucker and takes him to the sandbox to help her build. About ten minutes later, he looks up wondering if it's been long enough and internally panics when there's no sign of Lacus or his SUV. Mika wouldn't let them leave him, would he? He takes a deep breath and thinks, he can call Guren, but that would mean he'd have to lie or he could call Shinoa for help, since she already has a clue. Of course, she'd never let him live it down, but it's a small price to pay to avoid Guren's wrath.

He nearly jumps a foot when someone grabs his shoulder and he looks up to see Mika smiling down at him, gesturing for him to leave and he feels all the tension leave his body, Mika would never leave him. They're back in the car, on the way to the prison before Mika apologizes, telling him it was Lacus' idea and reassuring him that he would never really leave him that. He had an inkling that's what happened, but it was good to have the confirmation, all the more reason to be wary of those two.

Apparently taking the pictures was the only difficult part because getting into the prison is a cakewalk for all four of them, their passage likely involved cash, but nobody stopped all four of them from meeting with the prisoner, just a limit of ten minutes.

"We hear you've decided to take the plea bargain."

The prisoner scoffs at them, "They sent a bunch of kids to threaten me? You must be joking. They're not taking me seriously."

"Unfortunately for you, they are." Lacus slides over his phone and watches the man's face change from smug to horrified. He gestures behind him to Yuu, making sure the prisoner sees him, "He's very persuasive."

"And how does this convince me not to take the plea bargain?"

"Besides not killing your daughter?"

"Yes, the bargain would get me out of here within a month, I could go home."

"Oh, how your tune has changed. Don't take the bargain, your kid stays alive and we can have you out in a year. Take it and you'll likely both die. It's really a life or death choice. I don't care what you pick, but make it fast."

"A year is a long time…"

"And death is forever."

"I...won't take it."

"Great! That's all we wanted to hear. Keep your word and we'll have you out in a year." L acus grabs his phone and waves the security guard over to let them out and Yuu can't help but feel bad for the prisoner. He's sure whatever he did was bad, but being forced to stay in prison for a year to keep your child alive sucks.

The man may deserve it, but the girl doesn't deserve to have her life on the line too and the fact that he helped turns his stomach in an unpleasant way. He's not cut out for this and he's pretty sure this was tame for them. Krul's warning makes all too much sense now.

Yuu''s wondering how bad of a situation he's gotten himself into when he feels Mika take his hand, "See, there's nothing to worry about! I'm fine and you don't have to come anymore."

"Mika, I know this doesn't compare to everything else you guys usually do. I'm not that stupid."

His smile falters for a minute, but he quickly regains it, "Well, either way, let's celebrate your first assignment with us!"

"Celebrate? I don't feel very accomplished, we just used that guy's daughter against him. I feel worse if anything."

"Shut up," Rene cuts in harshly. "A conscience isn't something we need here. You joined, you do your job and don't complain about it."

Mika clears his throat which does a poor job of dispelling the tension, "Anyway, it's a surprise, Yuu-chan, let me put the blindfold on you."

"Why do you have a blindfold?"

"Lacus keeps them just in case. Now turn around." He turns to let Mika tie it over his eyes, then guide him into the car. "It's somewhere you've been wanting to go."

~~~~~  
Mika removes the blindfold and spins him around, "Surprise!"

Yuu blinks quickly, eyes adjusting to the bright neon lights to make the out the words 'Dark Fantasy,' then in smaller letters 'Adult Store.' "Mika, what the hell?!"

"It's your reward to celebrate your first job with us!"

"This is _not_ what I thought you had planned."

"I said we could go together and it'd be fun!"

"And I said no!"

"Since we were already going to be nearby," Mika continues, ignoring him, "I thought it would be perfect. This is one of the largest around."

"I could be wrong, but couldn't you have just gone to a regular store?"

Mika pouts, "Where's the fun in that?" Mika reaches for his hand, but he darts just out of reach.

"I'll wait in the car."

"Yuu-chan!"

"I'm not going in there! They probably won't even allow us in."

"Like they'll say no to these faces and...we have fake ids if we need them. Plus they even agreed you deserved a reward, probably for scaring you at the park, but still."

"Still not going." Yuu holds out his hand for Lacus' keys and gets a laugh in response. Lacus and Rene each grab an arm and haul him to the front door. "Mika!"

"I don't think he's going to give you his keys, you can come in with us or stand around in front of the store hoping no one tries to pick you up."

"Pick me up?"

"Like a prostitute on a corner," Lacus answers helpfully.

"What the fuck?!"

"I mean, what would someone think if you're hanging around in front of a sex shop by yourself at night, Yuu-chan?"

Yuu glares at him, "I'm going to remember this."

"Good! I will too!" They release him to Mika who grabs his hand and drags him into the store, "It'll be fun!" He watches Mika grab a basket from the stack inside the door,looking around excitedly and he's mortified, it looks like Mika actually intends to do shopping in here. He drags Yuu over to a shelf with small bottles and he catches the cashier eyeing them, but unfortunately he doesn't call them out.

He watches Mika waver between two small clear bottles before dropping both in his basket. "We're done now, right?"

Mika smiles over at him and Yuu barely has time to think he doesn't like that smile one bit, then he's being pulled him farther down the aisle. "Ooo, look Yuu-chan, this lube is warming and this one's apple flavored! How about strawberry flavored? Let's get a bunch!"

"No Mika," Yuu hisses. "I don't want to buy a bunch of flavored lube. What's the point of them?"

Mika smirks, "I'm sure you'll find out one day."

"Let's just go."

"In a second, we're already here, let's look at the other stuff they have."

"Nooo." Mika drops a variety of lubes in the basket before forcing it onto Yuu's free arm and heading farther into the back of the store. Yuu glances around at all the erotica, then shuts his eyes, desperately trying to erase all the images he just saw namely the book covers and pictures.

Yuu comes to stand next to Mika who's observing some furry handcuffs. "What's your favorite color, Yuu-chan?"

"No."

"That's not a color."

"No, I don't want fur handcuffs."

Mika glances over Yuu's shoulder before cradling his face, "What would _you_ like to buy, Yuu-chan?"

"Nothing here," Yuu replies, glancing over when his wrist his suddenly jerked and he hears a click. Mika lets go, attempting to fight down a smile and Yuu is horrified to find his wrist has been handcuffed to a display penis on the wall. He's going to strangle Lacus, if only his attempts to reach him weren't restrained by the handcuffs. "Give me the damn key!"

"No can do, but you better do something before someone comes over and sees you."

Yuu's eyes widen in alarm as his face turns red and Mika can't stop laughing as he struggles to get the handcuffs over the base, rattling the whole display. "Yuu-chan, stop," Mika commands, grabbing his hand to keep him still. "You'll break the display and make a scene."

"You don't get to tell me to stop! You distracted me, so he could do this! I don't wanna be handcuffed to a fake penis!"

"So…a real one?" Yuu glares. "All right, all right. Hand me the key." Mika quickly unlocks him, places the handcuffs back, and moves farther down the aisle before Yuu can take his ire out on him.

Yuu stalks after him, smacking his hovering hand away from a shelf of vibrators. "I'm drawing the line here! We have more than enough, let's go!"

"Fine then, ruin your reward."

"I'd rather have ice cream."

"We can do that too." Mika glances over to where Lacus and Rene are snickering at a light up vibrator, "Come on guys, we're gonna get ice cream for Yuu-chan."

"Yum. Hey Mika," Lacus calls, pointing at a bucket, "Don't forget condoms."

"Yeah...Yuu-chan, do you want condoms?"

"What?! No!"

"Cool, I don't either!"

Lacus rolls his eyes and tosses one in the basket, "Take one just in case."

They approach the counter and Yuu sighs in relief that they're finally about to leave. Mika dumps his basket, pulling out his card to pay. "Won't you be embarrassed when Krul sees this charge?"

"Nah, she doesn't care and probably won't even notice."

"Oh." Yuu picks up a small silver rounded item with a jewel on one side, "Hey, what are these light up things?"

"You put them in your drink at raves," Rene answers and Lacus chokes.

"Ohhh, that makes sense. Can we get some?"

Mika winces and says softly, "Those are butt plugs, Yuu-chan." Yuu freezes and swallows tightly at Lacus' chortling, he places it slowly back on the shelf. "We can still get some if you what," Mika adds.

"No, Mika. I'm done, I'll wait outside"

Mika watches Yuu exit the store before glaring at Rene.

"You told him not me."

~~~~~  
They end up at a large ice cream shop that's on the way home and Yuu is much more comfortable there than at the sex shop. "Hey Yuu-chan, let's get the giant sundae and split it." Yuu shrugs, he doesn't care as long as he gets ice cream. "Be right back."

"Get ours too," Lacus calls.

"Yuuchirou, he's just going to get worse if you don't discourage him now," Rene comments.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Stop letting him do whatever he wants and set some boundaries," Lacus clarifies.

"There's nothing wrong with sharing a sundae."

"No, but he's getting really attached to you and wants to do all those couple-y things. We told you he's been holding in a lot of feelings for you, now you're basically giving him permission to let it all out. Draw a line so he'll have something left of himself when you dump him."

"I promised Mika I wouldn't leave him."

"And if you really wanted to leave, he would never hold you to that promise. I'm just saying do us all a favor and make him give you space."

"No way, things are always worse when we do that."

"God dammit Yuuichirou, you're just as selfish as he is. You two deserve each other."

He's saved from responding when Mika arrives back at the table carrying a tray with all their ice cream, placing it on the table and taking a seat next to him in the booth. Yuu's more than content to sit there with Mika sharing a sundae, pushing their concerns from his head. And when Mika leans over to embrace him followed by a cold kiss to the cheek, whispering that he loves him, Yuu knows he's exactly where he wants to be.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14

* * *

Guren was _not_ looking forward to this conversation with Yuu, he could already guess it would go badly. Like he told Shinya, from what he could see, Yuu was already pretty attached to Mikaela. Telling him to break it off wasn't going to do anything but sour their relationship especially since Yuu's already annoyed he hasn't been home as much lately. Seems like he may have filled that gap with Mikaela and he's reluctant to take away what's making him happy, but Shinya had seemed so sure…

" _Guren, I need to speak with you for a second, it's about Yuuichirou."_

 _Guren is immediately filled with annoyance, what did that brat of his get himself into now? "What happened? Did you hear something from Shinoa?"_

 _Shinya gestures him back into his seat and shuts the door to Guren's office. "It's partially about Yuu and partly about Mikaela."_

" _Mikaela?"_

" _Yes, Yuu needs to break up with him."_

 _Guren stares at him blankly, "Are you joking right now? Yuu's not going to break up with him, he's halfway to being in love with the clingy kid. And here I thought you liked him."_

" _I'm completely serious, Guren. I do like him, he seems nice, but it could be a facade. You can't judge someone purely on what they show on the surface and there's more to Mikaela than what he lets you see. I don't know how much Yuuichirou knows, if anything, but it's bad."_

 _Guren looks at him for a moment before finally saying, "You heard this from Shinoa?"_

" _Yes, apparently she's been trying to keep them apart, but it hasn't been working out and she's worried Yuu may be getting involved with some of Mikaela's unsavory business."_

" _Like what?"_

" _Guren, I can't say, but I_ really _need you to trust me. He won't listen to Shinoa, but maybe he'll listen to you."_

" _Me? Have you met Yuu? That kid doesn't listen to anyone if he doesn't want to."_

" _You'll have to do something then, before he gets himself killed."_

Guren's head snaps to the doorway when he hears Yuu slam the door open in that reckless way of his.

"Hey Guren, what's up? Why are you here so early?"

He nods to the couch, "Sit down. We need to have a talk."

Yuu stiffly makes his way to the couch and Guren takes that as a bad sign. If he's acting like that already, then he must've done something he shouldn't have. "Well what is it?"

"You know how I said sometimes you can take care of yourself and other times you can't?"

"Yeah…?"

"This is one of those times where you can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll be blunt with you. I want you to break up with Mikaela."

"...Why?"

"Because I've heard some things and I don't think you should stay with him."

"Things like what?" Yuu asks defensively.

"It doesn't matter what, Yuu! Just break up with him before you get hurt."

"No! I'm not breaking up with him! Have you been talking to Shinoa?"

Guren sighs, "Shinya mentioned to me that Shinoa has concerns which he doesn't think are unfounded. This kid may be a lot more dangerous than you think, Yuu. The last thing I need is for you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt and you can't make me break up with him. You can't judge him when you're never home anyway."

"That's not what we're talking about right now."

"We're not talking about anything, I'm going upstairs."

Guren sits back with a sigh, see, nothing gets through that thick head of his.

~~~~~  
Goddammit Shinoa, Yuu thinks, throwing his bag on the floor. Why'd she have to say something? Now, Guren's going to be watching him like a hawk when he can, which is probably what she wanted all along. Does no one think he's capable of taking care of himself? Not Guren, not Shinoa, not even Mika and he claims to love him.

He misses half a day of classes and Shinoa's convinced he's up to something dangerous, it's frustrating that no one wants to let him make his own decisions. He has to force Mika into letting him do what he wants and even then, he's pretty sure Mika still isn't being completely honest. But even so, Mika would never deny his company.

Yuu grabs his phone, **[gurens aggravating me, i wanna come over]**

 **[can't, i'm about to go out]**

 **[till when]**

 **[i don't know]**

 **[...are you doing an assignment?]**

 **[i just have to do something]**

Mika's being evasive which means he probably is and doesn't want Yuu to come along. Well, he's tired of people deciding for him. They made a deal and he's going to hold him to it.

 **[we said no more lying]**

 **[yes i am, yuu-chan, happy now?]**

 **[no it pisses me off cause you didn't tell me so i could come with you]**

 **[i dont want you to come]**

 **[its not your choice]**

 **[i dont have to tell you anything]**

 **[we made a deal]**

 **[that i hate myself for making everyday]**

 **[we can always break it]**

His phone remains silent for several minutes and he debates calling Mika in case he actually took him up on that offer before it finally chimes again. **[sometimes i dont why i put up with you. yoichi wouldn't make me do things i don't want to do]**

 **[well, go date him then]**

 **[he was pretty cute that night]**

 **[dont you dare]**

 **[make up your mind, you just told me to go for it]**

 **[youre mine! I deal with all your crap, youre not allowed to go run off to someone else!]**

 **[thats sweet yuu-chan, ill talk to you later]**

 **[mika, what the hell? tell me where you are!]**

 **[lol, what for? you just nulled our deal, if i'm not allowed to run off, even if i don't tell you, you wont go anywhere]**

 **[you've got two seconds to tell me or i go over and ask krul]**

 **[youre being an asshole right now]**

 **[one second]**

Yuu's phone chimes with the address and he grabs his jacket to head over. Like he'd let me Mika out of their deal that easily, especially after he had to practically force him into it. That Yoichi comment really pissed him off though, looks like Mika's learned how to press his buttons, better that than how to manipulate him back, but he doesn't like it either way.

When he arrives, they're all waiting and Mika looks less than pleased to see him, but that's fine, he's not happy with Mika right now either. Yuu gives him a sour look and heads to Rene's SUV, but he's directed over to Mika's car, at his look of confusion Lacus explains they're not coming straight back and since now he's going, Mika has to drive too.

Yuu sighs and slides into the passenger seat, glancing at Mika's pissed off expression, it's going to be a long night.

~~~~~  
It does turn out to be a long night, Mika barely speaks a word to him and while those three joke with each other, there's an undercurrent of seriousness, more so than the first time he came with them, as if they actually are professionals and not just three sixteen year olds playing at being adults.

They've tied the director to a chair and now they're just waiting for confirmation that some person Yuu's never heard of has been released. It's been pretty easy, he's not sure why they're more serious this time.

"Hey Mika," Lacus throws an arm around him. "Let's play a game."

"Shouldn't you be taking this a little more seriously?"

"Yeah I should, but we have nothing but time to kill."

"Alright Lacus, what is it?"

Lacus drops a hand to Mika's hip and leans in to whisper something to him. Mika smirks before brushing back Lacus' hair and whispering something into his ear causing him to give a short laugh. What the hell are they up to and what kind of game is this?

He glances over to Rene who looks unperturbed as if it's a daily occurrence then back to Lacus who gives him a wink before saying something else and Yuu can feel his blood boiling. Now, he knows what game they're playing, the piss Yuu off game. It was Lacus' idea, but Mika must be mad enough to go along with it.

"Cut it out, Mika." He levels a glare at Lacus, "Get away from him."

"I'm just talking to my friend."

"No, you're not, I know what you're doing! Mika!"

"Yuu-chan, we're just talking."

"Yeah, Yuu- _chan."_

Yuu narrows his eyes and shoves them apart, "I'm not in the mood. What's wrong with you, Mika?"

"Nothing," he brushes him off. "I'm going to make sure the buildings clear."

Yuu watches him leave in annoyance, this is how he wants to act? Apparently he's not hiding behind sunshine and roses anymore. Yuu hears the alert and a cheer from behind him, guess the confirmation came.

"It's finished and we're ready to leave," Lacus says.

"Alright."

"Kill him, Yuuichirou," Rene commands.

"What?" Yuu goes pale, feeling his anger fade away and dread slowly taking its place. "No way! He's just sitting there and he's tied up, he isn't doing anything."

"I don't care, we were never going to leave him alive. You can be the one to kill him."

Yuu stands firm, "No."

"Lacus give the man your gun. It's your life or his, Yuuichirou."

"He has no reason to kill me."

"If he shoots you, we'll let him live."

Yuu's eyes widen and he takes a step back, "You wouldn't."

"We would, you're nothing to us."

Rene begins untying his hands and Yuu starts to panic, he can't kill the guy for no reason, but if he doesn't, he has no doubt the director will kill him first. Where the hell is Mika? Why did he leave him with his crazy friends?

"I'll count to five, that's how long you have until I give him this gun. Someone is going to die, I don't care who."

"Be careful," Lacus adds, "If you run, his finger might slip."

He listens to Rene slowly count and he can't do it. His mind won't let him shoot a man who hasn't done anything to him. If these are his last seconds, he feels bad for Guren, he's going to wonder what happened and never know the truth. Shinoa will be angry that he never listened to her, then turned up missing. He has no clue how Mika will feel, but hopefully he'll be missed.

When Rene reaches five, he squeezes his eyes shut and prays the man won't aim for anything vital, they never said he had to kill him, just shoot. Yuu jerks when he hears the shot, but gradually relaxes when he doesn't feel any pain. He opens his eyes to see the man in a pool of his own blood, shot through the heart and the gun laying beside him. "What the hell are you doing?!" Yuu looks to his left to see Mika looking absolutely furious with gun in hand, ah now he understands what happened.

"Mika, you weren't supposed to shoot him," Rene answers calmly.

"You two were going to stand there and let him die." Mika's voice is trembling in anger.

"No, we gave Yuu to the count of five to shoot first, he chose to stand there and die."

"Why would he need to kill him?! You could've taken care of it easily!"

"We need to know we can trust him. You brought him here and expect us to work with him when we don't even know if we can rely on him. If he can't kill a man sitting in a chair, how can we trust him to have our backs when the time comes and he has to act?"

"That's not his job! We have each other backs!"

"If he serves no purpose, then he's useless and he shouldn't be here. I'm not working with someone whose conscience will get me killed."

"Fine! We're leaving! Come on Yuu-chan."

Yuu's in shock that Mika killed the man right in front of him without hesitating and they don't even care that he's dead, they're arguing over who was supposed to kill him, his life was worthless to them. He knew that Mika had a hand in killing people, but to see it right in front of his eyes wasn't something he was expecting. To make matters worse, the entire time they're arguing, Lacus kept eye contact with him as he repeatedly stabbed the man's chest with the end of a broom to force more blood out. It's honestly making him sick, the glee he obviously derives from how uncomfortable he's making him.

And Mika...it's nothing to him. Murder is nothing to him and he treats Lacus' antics like another day on the job. Which, actually it could be. Maybe they're like this all the time and he's used to it by now, but the callousness of arguing over his dead body...Yuu has no doubt they'll leave him laying in the floor for some random person to find. Would they have left him like that if Mika hadn't shown up? He doesn't want to think about it.

"Yuu-chan, snap out of it!" Mika shakes him roughly near the stairwell.

"What? I am."

"You've got this glazed over look in your eyes, I need you to pay attention."

"We're going home, right? Are we done?"

"Yeah, they'll take care of everything."

"Good."

"I hope this changes your mind about the deal you forced me into."

Yuu opens his mouth to deny it, but nothing comes out. He's not sure how he feels about coming along anymore. He wanted to protect Mika, but when it came down to it, he couldn't even protect himself. He's far out of his league here and the farther away he stays from Lacus the better, speaking of which he needs air.

He sprints past Mika and out the doors trying his best to fight down the rising nausea by taking quick shallow breaths of the cool night time air, but it's barely helping him hold it together. "I'm sorry you had to see that Yuu-chan."

"You just killed him, like it was nothing and Lacus was playing with his dead body."

"...Didn't you see the part where he had a gun pointed at you?"

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing, he was going to kill you, your hesitation would have gotten you a bullet. I told you it was dangerous, but you didn't listen! This is why I didn't want you to come!" Mika sighs and his gaze softens, he shouldn't take it out on Yuu. He pulls him into a hug, "I'm sorry, Yuu-chan, that was wrong of me, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have you left you alone with them, I know how they are and that they didn't like you coming."

"Can you just take me home?"

"Yeah, let's go."

~~~~~  
Mika's curled up beside Yuu, watching him sleep when his phone rings. After they'd gotten back, Yuu had gone right to his bed. He'd made it very clear he didn't want to talk about anything right then, Mika assumed he needed time to process the night and let him be. Sometime during the silence, he drifted off while Mika lay awake wondering what would happen now.

He unburies his hand from Yuu's hair and grabs his phone, scooting away a little to answer, "What?"

"We need to talk to you."

"...Don't tell me someone found out."

"No, just get over here."

"Fine."

He gives a final glance back at Yuu to confirm he's still asleep before slipping out the door to go find out what the hell is wrong now.

"What do you guys want?" Mika asks coldly when he arrives.

"Sit down," Lacus replies.

"Why?"

"Just do it." Once Mika's seated and looking at him expectantly, he speaks, "We've got our next assignment."

"Already?"

"It's to kill Shinoa."

Mika feels the blood drain from his face, "No," he whispers.

"Yep, apparently she went running her mouth to someone about you and it got back around. They want her dead."

"I can't do that…Yuu-chan would hate me forever."

"We're not asking you to, just don't interfere. We'll take care of it."

"I wouldn't do that, it would only hurt us. When?"

"Friday."

"What?!"

"The faster it's finished, the better."

"Can you...at least give me the weekend with him?"

"Mika…"

"Please! Two days is all I'm asking!"

"You're making it worse on yourself, but fine, Sunday night."

Mika takes a breath, "Okay."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

* * *

Mika's been clingier than usual these past few days, he's barely been more than a few feet away from Yuu anytime they've been together. He has a feeling that something is really wrong, but no matter what, Mika refuses to say, so all he can do is let Mika be close to him.

He's spent most of the weekend with Mika, not doing much, just being together. Mika hasn't wanted to leave his house, preferring to cook complicated meals for them several times a day. Krul is there off and on and it's far too much food for the three of them, so she takes some back to her coworkers, but doesn't stop him.

Yuu's not sure if he's still upset about the incident several days ago and this is his way of apologizing or if it's something more. They haven't talked about it, what's there to say? Mika has his job and he does it, Yuu knowingly accepted it. Besides nothing he says will change anything, so there's no point in discussing it.

For the most part Mika seems okay, but then he'll occasionally look at Yuu and get this sad look and it makes Yuu anxious, even his kisses seem sadder. It's useless to try for answers though, Mika brushes all his questions off with a forced smile and Yuu's left to lie awake at night with Mika clinging to him in his sleep, wondering if their relationship is about to come crashing down.

Yuu sighs and brushes back Mika's bangs, looking down at the boy who currently has his arms wrapped around Yuu's waist and face buried in his stomach. Mika's emotions have finally reached a head and he can't hide them anymore. "Mika, tell me what's wrong." He shakes his head and Yuu has to fight down his frustration, he knows Mika's upset, but for the life of him, he can't figure out why he won't say a word about it.

When he feels Mika starting to tremble and his shirt becoming damp, his protective instincts start to come out, he hates seeing Mika hurting like this. "I'm here for you," he traces small swirls in the tear trails with his fingertips, "Please let me help you." He gets no response just Mika crying harder and he can't stop the sense of dread thinking about how bad it must be.

He tilts Mika's head up and kisses him, ignoring the taste of salty tears, "I love you, Mikaela. No matter what it is, I promised I'd stay with you." Yuu pauses. "Unless you cheated on me, then it's void," he jokes.

"Yuu-chan! I'd never do that!"

"I know you wouldn't, I just don't like seeing you cry."

Mika pushes himself away, "You're right, this isn't fair to you. Let's get some something to eat."

"Huh? We don't have to."

"It's fine, I've cried enough." Mika gives him a shaky smile, "Let's go." Yuu's reluctant, but he goes anyway knowing that Mika's putting up a front for his benefit. Krul's downstairs and she raises an eyebrow when she sees Yuu is still there.

"Planning to move in, Yuuichirou?"

"No, not yet anyway."

Krul watches his eyes trail after Mika into the kitchen, "So, you've made your decision then?"

"Of course. I picked Mika," Yuu replies simply.

She nods resignedly, "Don't hurt him."

"You're not going to try and convince me otherwise?"

"I did and you made your own decision, just like I let Mikaela do. Be safe." Krul steps aside and heads into her office.

"What did she say to you this time?" Mika questions with a frown.

"Nothing, just telling me to be safe."

"Huh."

"What do you mean _this_ time?" He shrugs and turns away, eating a scoop of ice cream from the carton. Yuu grabs the other spoon and digs in beside him. "Don't tell me you heard what she said that other time when we _thought_ you were asleep."

"..."

Yuu snatches Mika's spoon from his mouth, "Is that why you were weird for those two weeks?!"

Mika reaches for his spoon in annoyance, "Well you weren't exactly warm and friendly either!"

"Yeah, but I didn't know you knew! You could've talked to me about it!"

"I wasn't going to interfere in your choice, you could decide for yourself."

"That's a shitty excuse for why you avoided me, Mika!"

"At least I had an excuse, you didn't!"

"I was thinking."

"Well so was I." Yuu glares at him. "You're not the only one who was upset, Yuu-chan. I really missed you then, especially because you came to see me when I was sick, but I didn't want to pressure you. Krul did enough of that."

" _This_ is why I don't want us to have secrets."

"Mmm."

He glances down at the feel of his phone vibrating to see a text from Guren demanding he come home now with exclamation marks. Yuu smirks at Guren's dramatics, now Guren gets how he feels, and hands Mika back his spoon after taking a final bite, "I'll see you at school tomorrow. It's late and Guren wants me back home."

"Okay." Mika grabs him in a crushing hug, "Tomorrow."

~~~~~  
Lacus rests against the hood of the car, bored and impatient. Once they decided on the location, it was nothing to gather the few things they needed and arrive. The plan is short and sweet, now they're just waiting for Shinoa to arrive to get it over with. "This would be easier if Mika was here too."

"Maybe, maybe not. He'd be reluctant to do what we need and I want to get this over with fast," Rene replies.

"I suppose that's true too. You think Yuuichirou will say anything when he finds out?"

"I doubt it, especially after seeing the message we leave. He'll know not to say anything and there's no way Mika will tell him it was us."

"And maybe if it goes well, he won't want anything to do with any of us anymore, then we won't have to worry about someone finding out."

"Mika will be a mess," Rene points out.

"Yeah, but we'll all be _alive_ to see him eventually get over it. Look, there she is, which proves she knows. Otherwise she'd be suspicious of a text from Yuuichirou saying he's in trouble."

"Tell her he's hiding in the trees and to make sure she wasn't followed."

"K….she said she wasn't and that's he's such a drama queen."

"Let's go." Rene slides on a pair of gloves and throws another pair at Lacus. "You go from the back."

Rene carefully steps around the clearing until he's in front of Shinoa before revealing himself. He can see the moment she realizes what's happened as she goes pale and her eyes begin to dart around looking for an escape.

"Where's Yuu?"

"You know he's not coming."

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. _He's_ probably safe with Mika right now."

"What's this about?"

"We know what you told Shinya and you know the consequences."

He can see her pale farther, "You can't. They'll know it was you."

"It's already done. We won't leave any evidence."

"We?"

Rene nods to Lacus and he springs into action grabbing Shinoa's arms and pinning her to the ground. "Since, you're Yuu's friend, we'll make this painless and clean, so you won't suffer." Rene pulls out a syringe and stuffs a gag into her mouth to stop her screaming. "Struggling won't help, it doesn't matter where I inject you, the result will be the same." He plunges the needle into her leg and sits back to wait.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Lacus questions as she continues to struggle frantically.

"Not long. There's not supposed to be any suffering, it'll be like falling asleep."

"Good, it's getting cold out here. Hey, can we get stop by that burger place on the way back?"

"I don't care." There's silence for a while except for Lacus occasionally humming a tune and Shinoa's struggles slowly dying down, before Rene reaches down to check her pulse, "Alright, she's gone."

"Awesome," Lacus lets go of her and stretches his arms, "Let's go then, I'm hungry."

~~~~~  
It's Tuesday and nobody has heard from Shinoa since Sunday, but they're not unduly worried she's likely off participating in Hiiragi business. Yuu doesn't know all of what her family does, but they like to keep it discreet. She'll probably be back soon with stories of how inconvenienced she was.

Mika, on the other hand, has been here and he still looks slightly worn out which probably has something to do with whatever was upsetting him last weekend. He never managed to get him to tell, but Yuu's pretty sure he'll find out eventually. Though, it's curious that Mika's the only one upset, those three are usually pretty in sync, but Lacus and Rene look fine.

Yuu's not conceited enough to say that maybe it has something to do with him, but the few times he's actually seen Mika upset, it's been about him, so he can't help but wonder. He approaches their table, making it a point to avoid the other two's gaze. "Hey Mika," Yuu says settling into his lap and looping an arm around his shoulders.

Mika's startled to find himself with a lapful of Yuu and blinks in surprise before hugging him back, "Hey Yuu-chan, whats up?"

"Nothing, you still look upset."

"No, I'm fine."

"Uh huh," Yuu gives him a quick kiss on the mouth, "I know you're lying."

"Aren't you two being a little inappropriate for school?" Lacus interrupts, blocking Mika from replying.

Yuu gives him a look, "We're just _talking._ "

"You're still irritated about that? It was harmless fun."

"Have fun with Rene instead."

"You're kind of possessive, aren't you? I wonder how long that'll last," Lacus muses.

Yuu feels Mika's leg kick out to catch Lacus in the shin causing him to let out a hiss of pain. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Love you, Yuu-chan."

"I love you too, but what-"

"Yuuichirou?"

Yuu glances up to see the principal standing next to their table, "Yes?"

"May I speak with you in my office?"

"Uh sure." He looks at Mika in confusion before prying his hands off his waist to leave with the principal.

"Don't look so worried, Mika," Lacus says. "He's innocent, so he's got nothing to worry about."

"Yeah," Mika murmurs.

~~~~~  
When Yuu steps into the office, he's surprised to see several officers including Guren and Shinya, who looks as if he's been crying. He takes a seat and Guren starts with the questions.

"When did you last see Shinoa, Yuu?"

"Friday at school."

"You didn't see her this weekend at all?"

"No…"

"Are you sure?" Guren presses.

"Yeah, I was with Mika most of the weekend or at home."

Guren exchanges a quick look with Shinya, "When did you last text her?"

"Hmm...I texted her yesterday when she didn't come to school."

"When did you last text her and get a response?"

"Maybe saturday morning when I told her I'd be with Mika most of the weekend."

"And neither of you met up with Shinoa at all?"

"No, we didn't leave his house at all. I don't think he felt well, he was upset about something."

Shinya's gaze jerked back to Yuu, "What do you mean upset?"

"Uh…" He's treading on dangerous ground here, he has to be careful what he says about Mika with all the cops in the room. "He just wasn't happy."

"Are you lying to me?" Guren asks.

"What do you mean? He was sad and wanted me with him, you know how he is."

"Uh huh. And I also remember telling you to stay away from him."

"And I told you no."

Shinya brings the conversation back on topic, "How was he upset?"

Yuu narrows eyes at them, "I don't know."

"You don't know? What was his behavior that made you think he was upset?"

"I don't know."

"Yuu…" Guren starts in a warning tone.

"I don't remember. What's Mika have to do with anything?"

"Considering he's your alibi, a lot."

"My...alibi? What do I need an alibi for?" Guren pulls Shinoa's phone from his pocket and shows Yuu the messages from him telling her to meet him Sunday night. "T-that wasn't me. I was with Mika then I went home. I never sent those!"

"Yuu, they're from your number." He shakes his head and takes out his phone to show Guren, but he doesn't even glance at it. "Messages can be erased, Yuu."

"B-but-"

"Shinoa's been found dead, Yuu. At the exact location the messages from your number said to meet."

Yuu feels the blood drain from his face, "D-dead?"

"Yes and right now, you're the prime suspect."

"Shinoa was one of my best friends, you can't believe I'd do this." Yuu can't keep his voice from shaking, he's just found out one of his best friends is dead and he's the suspect in a matter of five minutes. He hasn't even had time to process the news and he's already trying to prove his innocence.

"Right now, you're our only lead. There was one final message." Guren scrolls down and tilts the screen towards Yuu.

 **[This is what happens when you interfere.]**

Yuu feels his heart almost stop as it becomes clear what happened. Shinoa was killed by people from Mika's organization for talking too much and they pinned it on him to cover their tracks. Yuu sags in his seat, now he understands. This is why Mika made him promise not to say anything. He has no way of knowing if they picked him because Shinoa was warning him or because they know he knows about their organization.

He barely registers when his phone is taken for evidence and he's lead out of the building into Guren's squad car.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

* * *

They didn't put him in a jail cell because he was Guren's son, but he did have to stay in the building with a guard until they were able to prove that the messages were not in fact sent from his phone. However they still kept it for evidence, which was fine, he didn't much want to talk to anyone anyway.

Guren and Shinya were pulled away from questioning him and replaced with other officers due to their relationship with him, but the questioning still went nowhere and he could tell they were suspicious of him. He answered almost every question with a yes or no, in fear of revealing too much information. Any slip up could result him in his death next, so it was easier to play it safe.

Of course he knew who may have targeted Shinoa and why they would want her dead which would be valuable information they might be able to use, but more likely it would come back to bite him in the ass because whoever the culprits were, he's sure they would've taken care not to implicate themselves.

It doesn't stop the guilt he feels from not telling the truth and everyone looking at him like a suspect doesn't help, nor do the funny looks Shinya keeps giving him. They both think he's withholding information and Guren is furious, but keeping it under control, although he's already been threatened with jail time if he's lying.

By the time they finally let him go, with strict assurances that he's under house arrest, it's after midnight and he's exhausted as he follows Guren to his car, Yuu wants nothing more than this day to be over.

"Yuu."

"What is it?" He asks tiredly.

"Shinya's coming over later, I suggest you make yourself scarce until he's gone."

"What?" Yuu exclaims. "I had nothing to do with it! You just proved that!"

"Yuu. Maybe you didn't have anything to do with it, but you think both of us couldn't tell you were lying? We know you better than that. What we don't know is why. I always told you to come to me if you needed help."

"I don't need any help."

"Then why were you lying?"

"I wasn't."

"You're still lying. We'll be questioning the rest of your group tomorrow, maybe they'll actually want to help."

Yuu leans his head against the car window, too tired and stressed to reply, anything he says will just make it worse and he's sick of arguing. When he finally makes it upstairs behind his locked door, that's when he finally lets all his frustration, sadness, and anger at the unfairness of everything come out.

~~~~~  
He's not allowed to leave the house, so Yuu has no problem sleeping in the next morning. Even when he wakes finally wakes up, he's still exhausted once everything hits him all over again and he wishes he could go back to sleep and pretend yesterday never happened. But the fact is Shinoa's gone and it's partially his fault for not listening to her. Although with how far they've come, he can't imagine not having Mika in his life, even with his suspicions of his involvement. The next time he sees Mika, he'll ask and find out the truth, whatever it may be.

It's sometime mid-afternoon when the doorbell rings and Yuu drags himself to the door to answer it. He's both surprised and unsurprised to find the rest of his friends there, all with varying expressions of despair and shock.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"After they questioned all of us, we asked about you and they said you had been questioned yesterday. Guren said you'd be home," Kimizuki answers.

Yuu steps aside to let them in and follows them into the living room. The silence is suffocating, he's not sure if they know he's a suspect or not, but the tension in the room is still weighing down on him. "How are you guys doing?"

"I can't believe it!" Mitsuba cries. "Three days ago she was fine and now she's gone. They don't even have any leads!"

"They...don't?"

"You didn't know?" Yoichi asks.

"Guren can't tell me details and I haven't spoken to him since yesterday."

Yoichi perks up, "Maybe they _do_ have a lead and they just can't tell us Mitsuba, don't give up." He turns to Yuu in sympathy, "We heard they questioned you first, how did it go?"

"It was...just a few questions. I didn't know anything, so I wasn't much help.

Yoichi nods, "Same for us, I mean we know she sometimes rubbed people the wrong way, but not enough for someone to..."

Yuu looks away before his face betrays him and Kimizuki clears his throat, "Her funeral is Saturday." His statement is met with silence all around.

"So soon," Yoichi murmurs.

"Well, they can't delay it too long. Her family's influential, I'm sure they got all the evidence they could find as fast as possible. They'll be the ones to figure it out, not the police."

"Was it...bad?"

"They didn't tell me how it happened either."

Yuu glances over at Mistuba who looks a second away from falling apart. "Uh are you guys hungry or anything?" He asks with a pointed glance in Mitsuba's direction.

"O-oh yeah. I could eat."

Despite what Yoichi says, by the time they've ordered food and it's arrives, no one's hungry. Death has a way of taking away your appetite. It's even more depressing with everyone sitting around the table, but no one making a move to eat. They've never experienced death like this before, but if it's bad for them, it must be twice as painful for Guren and Shinya. First Shinoa's sister, now Shinoa too, their whole family must be suffering.

It isn't until Guren arrives home that anyone moves. He looks at all of them around the table and his face wrinkles slightly. "Yuu, you're not allowed to have guests." His friends glance at him in confusion and Yuu shrugs. "He's on house arrest," Guren clarifies. "Sorry, but you all have to leave."

"Uh, see you tomorrow, Yuu?" Yoichi questions.

He gives a quick look to Guren, "Probably not." Yuu can tell all of them are confused as they leave, but he'll be damned if he's the one to tell them he's a suspect, they'll find out soon enough. He looks towards Guren, "How long am I going to be punished?"

"You're not being punished. It's protocol, you may not have sent those texts, but you're involved and until we know how, you're not going anywhere. Consider yourself lucky, you're at home and not in a jail cell."

"Yeah." Yuu wonders how long he has before Guren attempts to force the truth out of him.

~~~~~  
Mika is seated between Lacus and Rene at the assembly being held in Shinoa's honor. He doesn't feel he deserves to be here, but it was both sudden and mandatory. The two who should be feeling the most guilt, of course feel none. Lacus is playing some game on his phone and Rene is reading a book, neither one of them seem bothered in the least, but it's not like he expected otherwise.

He can see Yuu's group of friends a few rows up, but Yuu's nowhere to be seen. In fact he hasn't been back since the day the principal came to get him, nor has he responded to any of Mika's messages. He wants to go by, but after being questioned by the police himself as Yuu's alibi, it's probably best not to be seen around his house just yet.

It wasn't Shinya or Guren who questioned him, but other officers. They didn't seem to think he had anything to do with it, but wanted to make sure Yuu had actually been with him and he wasn't covering for him. Hah, if only they knew. When they found no holes in his story, he was done. On the way out he saw Shinya looking towards him as if he wanted to say something, but he wasn't going to risk anything with him and bolted before Shinya could get near him.

"Hey Mika," Lacus whispers. "Sources says Yuuchirou hasn't been found guilty, but he's on house arrest and his phone's been confiscated."

"Why's he on house arrest if they don't think he's guilty?" Mika whispers back.

"I didn't say they thought he wasn't guilty, I said he hasn't been _found_ guilty. They totally suspect him, the police think he's withholding information."

"Lacus..."

"Don't worry, they've already proved the messages weren't from his phone, so it's all speculation. They won't find any evidence against him, but they'll keep an eye on him and he'll be out of our way."

"Yeah, but-"

"You should be happy, he won't be in danger coming with us and you'll know he's safe. Isn't this what you wanted all along?"

"Well yeah, but not because they think he's a murder suspect."

Lacus shrugs, "Compromise."

Mika leans back in his seat, he had no idea they were going to pin the murder on Yuu. He wanted nothing to do with it and no details on the plan, so finding out how exactly they lured Shinoa in was an unpleasant surprise. However Rene assured him that nothing would actually lead back to Yuu and he's typically more straightforward, so Mika can only hope it's the truth and wait for everything to blow over.

~~~~~  
Yuu stands between Kimizuki and Mitsuba, the latter clinging to his arm crying, listening to the preacher speak about Shinoa impersonally, which makes sense since he didn't even know her. Why is he even up there? Shinoa would hate having a stranger preside over her funeral, but he's not going up there to speak in front of all these people. He also doesn't think he could take the weight of Shinya's gaze upon him, he'd feel more like a traitor than he already does.

Everyone's eyes are wet, but his are dry. He's empty after the past few days. Mika's noticeably absent, he wasn't friends with Shinoa, but he thought Mika would at least come for him. Although if his suspicions are correct, Mika may not be entirely innocent in this and staying away out of guilt.

Everythings so depressing right now, knowing Shinoa will never again be there to make jokes at his expense or to warn him from doing something stupid. His friends don't know yet, but he has no doubt they'll find out soon enough that she was lured in by messages she thought were from his number.

He's angry and he doesn't know who to direct his anger towards: himself for not listening to Shinoa and failing to realize how much she was risking, the culprits for killing her...or Mika for dragging him into all of this. As much as it hurts to think, she'd be alive if Mika hadn't approached him that day and if he hadn't returned his interest. It's a bad train of thought, but they've both made some mistakes that led to this day. Yuu glances up towards the sky, it's a bright cloudless blue, how completely unfitting for the day.

He looks back towards the front when he feels Kimizuki move to approach the 'd all gotten together beforehand and written a letter to be read out loud at the funeral. None of them were thrilled at the prospect of talking in front of all the people in attendance, so they'd pulled straws and Kimizuki had drawn the short one. It worked out though, he was probably the person most likely able to speak in front of everyone without breaking down.

Mitsuba begins to cry harder as Kimizuki reads and Yoichi moves in closer on his other side. Apparently he's the rock holding them all together now. Kimizuki finishes, voice cracking on the last section, before relinquishing the podium. Honestly, Yuu barely heard a word he read, he already knows what the letter says plus he's sick of crying.

Following that, everything wraps up pretty quickly. They all place flowers around her and Yuu hates how still she is, there's nothing to even show how she died. Her body is dressed simply in a white kimono and she looks at peace. He steps back and her coffin is shut and taken away to be cremated. That's it, it's over. Except now everyone is mingling and sharing their condolences and he doesn't want to be a part of that, plus there's one more thing he has to do.

Without even bothering to change out of his funeral attire, Yuu slips away, drives straight to Mika's house and bangs on the front door. He's fortunate it's Mika and not Krul that answers, even though Mika looks wary of him, but this is something he has to find out.

"Did you know?" Yuu asks without preamble.

"Know what?"

Yuu glares at him, "Know they were going to kill her, Mika."

"I did," Mika's face has gone blank.

"Why didn't you say something?! You just let her be killed!"

"What could I say? It was either her or the four of us."

"What?"

"Yuu-chan, she wasn't supposed to say anything about us, she _knew_ that. But, she kept giving warnings and hints when she wasn't allowed to say anything. She broke the rules. You're right, she could have been saved if we admitted that you already knew everything, but then they would find out how. Then they would kill you for knowing too much about what we've done and me, Lacus, and Rene for exposing ourselves. It was an obvious choice for us."

"You should've told me, I could've asked Guren or Shinya for help! We all could have been fine!"

"Yuu-chan...they would be powerless. These are our families, but they'd disown us and then kill us. You're asking us to have risked everything on the very small chance that we'd all be fine."

"She risked everything trying to help me."

"I know. I understand that, I really do, but that's not how this works. Look what risking everything got her."

"Mika..."

"I'm sorry Yuu-chan."

"I…have to go."

Mika nods blinking back tears, "I understand."

As he drives home, it dawns on him that this is what Mika was so upset about last weekend. Mika knew Shinoa was going to be killed and that he would be mad when he find out Mika did nothing to prevent it. Yuu bangs his fist on the steering wheel, no wonder Mika kept giving him that sad look, that entire weekend he was preparing himself to say goodbye.

How could Mika just let him go without saying anything? Then again, Mika's always hated that Yuu got himself involved, Mika probably feels he's getting exactly what he deserves. Which means Mika never trusted him or had any faith in their relationship, it was a fleeting thing for him. All those declarations of love, but the whole time he knew they wouldn't last. Yuu wants to go back and punch him.

To make matters worse, Guren's standing on the porch when he arrives back home. Yuu can sense his anger from the driveway. "Where the hell have you been, Yuu?"

"I stopped by to see Mika."

Guren's eyes narrow, "Bad idea. You're on house arrest for a reason. I gave you your keys back for the _funeral_ , that's it. Hand them over. Monday, you're back at school, but no where else. Take the bus." With those final words, Guren snatches his keys and heads back inside.

Yuu doesn't bother putting up a fight, there's no reason to. The rest of the day passes by quietly. Surprisingly, Guren's home the rest of it, even if he is still doing work and they're in separate rooms. Evening comes, dinner's fixed, and they have a silent meal before Yuu heads upstairs.

He takes a seat at his desk and debates going online, but if his friends are there, then they're bound to ask questions about where he disappeared to earlier and he doesn't want to deal with that either, the only plus to not having a phone right now. But what's worst of all is the fact that the person he wants to be with the most right now is still Mika, but knowing he let Shinoa die, it's not possible to be with him right now which makes everything hurt more.

Yuu drops his head to his desk, he feels empty and he has a feeling things may get worse before they get better.

~~~~~  
Mika lays in bed staring at the ceiling, the breaking point has finally happened and Yuu has left him, just like he knew he would all along. He can't blame him though, he did let Shinoa be killed and he didn't even try to stop it, just asked for more time with Yuu. How selfish, he could have at least encouraged Yuu to spend more time with her before it happened instead of taking all his time until the very last second.

It's all too much right now, the thing he wanted most is gone and if doesn't do something he'll be wallowing in his misery forever. Mika gets up and goes downstairs to the kitchen. Krul's never kept the liquor put away, she never had a reason to. He grabs a bottle then heads back upstairs, wrapping himself in his blankets and squeezing the bear Yuu gave him. It's still damp from his last bout of tears, but he couldn't care less. Mika brings the bottle to his lips and tells himself, just a little to take the edge off.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

* * *

Mika is disturbed sometime later that evening by the incessant ringing of his phone. He's not quite sure how much he's had to drink, but he's been taking swallows every so often and now everything has a blurry warm edge to it. He hasn't felt this content in a while. Mika grabs his phone and slides up to answer it and he's met immediately with Lacus' annoyed voice.

"Where are you, Mika? We were supposed to meet 30 minutes ago for this assignment."

"Shit! Sorry, I forgot. I'll be there soon."

"What's wrong with your voice? Are you drunk?"

"No, I just woke up," Mika lies. "I'm about to leave now."

"Well, hurry up, we don't have all night!"

Mika hangs up and mutters obscenities, he forgot all about tonight. Not showing up isn't an option, but he's in no state to drive. A taxi will have to do, he calls for one while he quickly gathers his things into a dark bag. By the time the taxi's arrived, he's finished several glasses of water, eaten some fruit, and feels a bit more sober. Hopefully enough to get through the next two hours without arousing suspicion.

He gives the cab driver the address and can't keep himself from dozing off until they arrive. He pays and staggers to the meeting point. His head is fuzzy again and he's starting to think he drank a lot more alcohol than he should have, plus now he has to use the bathroom really badly.

Mika collapses to the ground and leans his spinning head on Rene's shoulder, "Sorry I'm late guys." When he doesn't receive a response, he opens his eyes to see Lacus watching him intently. "What?"

"You _are_ drunk."

"What? No, I'm not. I told you I just woke up."

"Nuh uh, Mika. You're slurring and you're flushed all over. What were you doing?"

"Nothing! Rene stop moving, I need to rest my head."

Lacus' arm shoots out to haul Mika to his feet, but it's too sudden and he collapses into him instead. Lacus groans from under him, "Mika, what the fuck?!"

He's too tired to support himself and sick of trying. His body goes slack and he rests his head on Lacus' shoulder before whispering, "Lacus, I really _really_ miss Yuu-chan. I don't want us to be apart." He begins crying quietly.

"Fuck Mika, okay I get it." He sighs, "I know you do, but we have a job to do. Can we talk about this later? Rene? A little help here."

Rene pulls Mika off and sits him down, "I told you he'd be a mess."

"Yeah, yeah." Lacus waves a hand dismissively. "Let's just take care of this, then we'll take him home, so he doesn't kill himself driving drunk. I don't even know how he made it here without getting pulled over."

"I didn't drive," Mika interrupts.

Lacus freezes, "What do you mean you didn't drive?"

"I took a taxi, there's no way I could have driven here."

"You're telling me you took a cab right to the place where we have to kill someone?"

"Yeah…"

"How much of an idiot can you be?!" Lacus punches him hard enough to that he's left gasping for breath. At least he didn't aim for his stomach, that would have been bad. "There's no way we can go in there now! How hard do you think it's going to be to remember he dropped someone off at the exact address twenty minutes before it happened?!" He takes a breath, "You've really screwed up, Mika. We can't help you out of this."

Lacus lifts him up by one arm and gestures for Rene to take the other. "What are we going to do with him?"

"We're taking him home, then telling Krul exactly why we couldn't complete the assignment. We're not taking the fall for this."

Rene nods and together they carry him to the car and buckle him in. Lacus takes shotgun and other than Mika's quiet snoring, it's a quiet ride back to his house. They dump him back in his bed and shut off the light, knowing that Mika's going to catch hell for this, but it's out of their hands.

~~~~~  
Mikaela is abruptly thrown back into consciousness when his bedroom door is slammed open. He groans and tries to cover his head with a pillow until it's ripped away. He feels terrible and his mouth is so dry. Mika can't hold back his wince when Krul starts screaming at him.

"Mika, how the hell could you be so irresponsible?! Taking a taxi and implicating all of you because you didn't feel like driving?! What were you thinking?!"

"Can you…just...talk a little softer?"

Krul pauses and takes good look at him, "Are you _hungover?_ Is that why you didn't drive yesterday? It seems Lacus and Rene still tried to help you, they didn't mention that you showed up drunk." Krul shakes her head, "I think some retraining is in order."

Mika's eyes widen in alarm, "No!"

"Yes, Mika. This can't go unpunished."

"I won't go!" He pulls the covers tighter around himself.

"Yes you will," she replies in a low voice before ripping him out the bed andon to the floor, not even using all the strength in her small body. "Get the hell up. Meet me downstairs in ten minutes. Oh and Mikaela? If we have to come find you, you know it'll be worse."

Mika curses, he has no doubt it's not an idle threat, but he's still tempted to run. He doesn't want to deal with any of this, even if it is his own mess. Krul screams his name though, so he swishes some mouthwash and heads downstairs, not even bothering to change. After all, it won't matter anyway.

Krul gives him a once over, mouth turning down into a frown before shrugging and gesturing him out the door. Once they reach the complex, he follows Krul into her office, feeling dread the whole way.

There's a knock at the door and Krul looks at him, "Ferid's been made aware of the situation, he'll be taking care of you. Come in!"

Mika looks at her in horror, "What? No!"

"You knew all along it would be him, it's why you initially refused, don't act surprised."

"Yeah...but I hoped not."

"Well, I hoped you wouldn't become intoxicated and do incredibly stupid things. I guess both our hopes were in vain."

"Come now, Mikaela." Ferid interrupts, stepping into the room, "We'll have such fun!"

Mika attempts to jerk out of his grip, but he holds strong. "Krul!"

She meets his glare with cool eyes, "You brought this on yourself. Return him in one piece, Ferid."

"Of course." He takes a bow and pulls Mika out of the room. "Stop struggling or I'll drag you by that nice blonde hair of yours."

"You're an easier target than me," Mikaela spits out.

"I'd like to see you try." Mikaela breaks his hold and attempts to headbutt Ferid, only to be put into a chokehold and forced to the ground. Ferid tsks, "You're way out of your league here, Mikaela. We're going to have fun!"

~~~~~  
Ferid looks down at him in amusement, holding a ridiculous lacy parasol. Mika remembers ripping one of them apart in a fit of rage when he was younger, he wasn't punished for it, Ferid simply bought another. But something tells him if he tries that this time, it won't end the same way.

Three days and he's exhausted, Ferid never worked him this hard, not even when he was younger. He hasn't been allowed much sleep the past few days and he's almost positive his body's going to give out any minute, he needs rest, but he's afraid of what will happen if he stops.

"It's because of that boy."

Mika's head shoots up from the mud, "What are you talking about?"

"Look who has energy to move now." Ferid twirls his parasol, "Yes, I know all about Yuuichirou."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Of course you do. Your cute green eyed boyfriend...or should I say ex now."

"Shut up!" Mika snarls, "How do you know about him?"

"Tsk, we really have to reign that temper in. Mikaela dear, it's my job to know. Did you really think you were keeping him a secret? It was a commendable effort, but I'm good at my job."

"..."

"Don't worry, I haven't told anyone."

"You haven't?"

"No, I was monitoring the situation, it _was_ starting to get a bit out of hand though."

"...What are you going to do now?"

"Nothing as long as he doesn't say anything. And if anyone else finds out about him, I, of course, will claim to have known nothing."

Mika never even anticipated Ferid would find out about Yuuichirou so easily, he's so stupid. Did he really think he could do all this and keep everyone separated? It was a foolish hope from the start. He may no longer talk to Ferid if he can help it, but that doesn't mean the man doesn't still keep tabs on him from a distance. He never stood a chance.

"Enough sulking, Mikaela. Get up before you fuse into the mud."

"I can't."

"If you get up, you can sleep with me tonight and you can tell me all about cute Yuuichirou."

"No _thanks."_

"Fine, if that's not enough motivation for you." Ferid pulls an item from his pocket, one that Mika would recognize anywhere, a stun baton. He had far too many run ins with it as a child in training, he swore he'd never feel the end of that stick again. "Don't make me use this, Mikaela."

"Wait, wait! I'm getting up!" He barely makes it to his knees before he's brought back to the ground with a scream of agony.

"Get up, Mikaela. Faster this time."

He struggles to his feet, leery of the baton the whole time. His thigh is tingling all over, "Why's it up so high!?"

"I figured you would need the motivation. Did you know that this isn't even the highest setting?"

Mika throws him a glare before running, the mud squishing in his shoes, he hates everyone.

~~~~~  
Yuu was certain it wasn't his imagination that everyone's eyes fell on him when he entered the building. And he was also positive he wasn't imagining the way no one made eye contact to speak to him, but all conversation ceased the minute he walked by. Unfortunately he had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on. It had been almost a week since the funeral, he should probably consider himself lucky that it took this long for everyone to find out.

Stepping into the classroom and seeing his friend's eyes slide away from him pretty much confirms it. "Hey guys."

"Hey Yuu," they murmur.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I have a feeling you already know," Kimizuki answers.

"I don't."

"Yuu!" Mitsuba blurts out, "Why didn't you tell us the messages came from your phone?!"

"Because they didn't."

"Well, that it looked like they came from your phone."

"They already proved it didn't, so what was the point?"

"Because it was important!"

"No, it wasn't."

"Why you?" Kimizuki interrupts.

"Huh?"

"Of all of us, why would they specifically use you?"

"I don't know."

"How did they know you wouldn't be with Shinoa at that time?"

"I don't _know_ , Kimizuki. Maybe they guessed."

"I doubt they'd guess. If they picked the wrong person, the whole thing would've fallen apart. So they had to know you wouldn't be with her."

"I don't know!"

"It's just surprising, Yuu."

"It surprised me too, Mitsuba. But, I had nothing to do with it, she was one of my best friends, you know that."

"We believe you, Yuu," Yoichi replies. "We don't think you had anything to do with it, we just thought we'd hear something like that from you first."

"It's not something I wanted to get out."

"Where's Mikaela?" Kimizuki cuts in.

"I don't know." Yuu shrugs, "I guess he's busy."

"He didn't even show up to the funeral."

"They weren't _friends."_

"No, but you would think your boyfriend would show up for _you_."

"We're not really talking right now."

Kimizuki stares at him, "Yuu, one of your best friends just….and you can't put your differences aside?"

Yuu shrugs, "It's complicated."

"Did you tell him?"

"He knows."

"How long since you talked to him?"

"He hasn't been around much. The last time we were together was almost two weeks ago."

Kimizuki gives him a speculative look, "Where were you that Sunday night, Yuu?"

"I was with Mika," he answers defensively.

"I see."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kimizuki levels a look at him, "It means that rumors usually start with some truth." He turns to face front as the bell rings and Yuu has to resist the urge to kick his chair.

So what if Kimizuki's actually partially right, he still shouldn't judge Mika without knowing him. Yuu never did. But he can't help but wonder who in the investigation leaked the information. They're the only ones that know and Yuu certainly didn't tell. If his phone had been returned, he'd text Guren right now and demand to know who told, but of course it's still being held as evidence which annoys him to no end.

There's also the small chance Mika could have actually tried to text him, he doubts it, but it could be possible and he wouldn't even know if Mika had tried.

Being a suspect is the worst.

Despite the continued looks and whispers, it isn't until lunchtime when things actually take a turn for the worse. Yuu glances up when Narumi slams a hand on the table. He hasn't talked to the guy much, but he recognizes him from some organization or another that Shinoa was in.

"What do you want?"

"We're all just shocked you turned on Shinoa like that."

"Shut up," Yuu practically growls.

"Never thought you of all people would betray one of your friends like that."

"I didn't, but I don't have to prove myself to you."

Narumi continues on ignoring him, "But why? We've been trying to think of your motivation. Maybe because she didn't like Mika? And you got sick of her complaining? Didn't know he meant that much to you that you'd kill. But I guess he didn't feel the same, haven't seen him in a while, maybe he ditched you." Narumi pauses, "Or _maybe_ he did it and you stood by and watched."

Yuu moves before he even thinks. He punches Narumi hard enough the older boy loses his balance and falls into the table behind him. The insinuation that he would sit back and let Shinoa die right in front of him makes him unbelievably mad. He gets it, Narumi is probably upset she's dead, but he's not going to let Narumi accuse him of helping kill one of his best friends!

The older boy looks up and there's fire in his eyes, he's not going to back down and that's fine with Yuu, he's got a lot of pent up energy anyway. Sound fades and his vision narrows as the other boy comes back with anger, throwing punches that Yuu easily blocks. Narumi is barely a match for him, he's been trained by Guren since he was young, this is nothing. He has Narumi pinned to the ground by his arm in no time, paying no mind to the tension in the older male's body as his arm is pulled farther and farther behind him.

He doesn't realize how close he is to breaking Narumi's arm until he's abruptly pulled off him. It's only then that his anger drains away and he comes back to himself, sounds filter back and he looks around to see his friends yelling at him. But then...oh shit. He warily looks to his side and is relieved to find that it's not a security guard that pulled him off, but surprised to find that it was Lacus and Rene instead. Yuu's surprised they're not sitting back at their table laughing at him.

"Nice job there, Yuuichirou," Rene comments.

Now that his adrenaline is wearing off, he just feels tired and he sags in their hold, "Why are you guys…?"

"Well, no one else was doing anything, not even those friends of yours and if you broke his arm, I'm pretty sure you'd be even more screwed than you already are," Lacus answers.

Yuu looks down to where Narumi is standing up, cradling his arm while giving him a death glare. That _was_ pretty close.

Unfortunately, he wasn't stopped soon enough to avoid the fight altogether and once they release him, he finds himself back in the principal's office being given a two day suspension. Needless to say, Guren is furious again. It may have been okay, had he not thrown the first punch, but he let his anger get the best of him.

There's not much Guren can do to punish him now though, his keys have already been taken, he's grounded except for school, and he still doesn't have his phone back. He can't sink much farther down.

Guren pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration across the table from Yuu. "What is going on with you lately? You can't seem to stay out of trouble."

"Hey, it was your department who leaked the information, that's not my fault."

"You nearly broke his arm, you _did_ dislocate his shoulder."

"Accident."

"Can you at least try to care?"

"No, because he shouldn't have said that."

Guren sighs, "Yuu, right now you're on thin ice. If you want all this crap to blow over, you'll have to keep your head down."

"Fine, that shouldn't be hard since I'm stuck at home...again."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you punched him. I've got to get back to work, try to stay out of trouble."

"Right." Once Guren's gone, Yuu settles in front of the TV with a bag of chips and sulks. Everything is so seriously bad right now and now suspension on top of it? Well, actually that's probably the least of his problems, school would be a nightmare right now anyway, so it's probably for the best that he's suspended if everyday would be like today.

At least it gives him more time to plan how to find the people responsible for Shinoa's death.

~~~~~  
"Mikaela, stop crying, you're making this more difficult," Ferid says in annoyance, brandishing the shock baton.

"Please stop," he sobs.

"What was that? I can't hear you over that disgusting crying."

"Please...stop."

His body is littered with bruises from all the physical training and the many times he's fallen from exhaustion, not to mention the numerous sore spots from the current shock training and the times it was used as motivation to get him moving again.

"If you really want me to stop, you know what to do. Hold it in." Ferid flicks the switch and presses it to Mika's thigh for a few seconds before pulling it back leaving the skin tender. His fingers dig into the arm of the chair, but he manages not to make a sound. "Good job Mikaela. See, you _can_ do it if you try."

" _Shut up."_

Ferid tsks, "Control your emotions, that's why you're here. I guess we'll have to start over."

"No!" Mika struggles against the binds on his wrists as Ferid approaches to tie a blindfold around his eyes. Darkness is the last thing he sees before he blacks out from the pain in his torso.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

* * *

Mika barely stirs from his position when Lacus and Rene come to lay on either side of him.

"So...you survived," Lacus says. Mika grunts. "Oh relax, everything's back to normal."

"Yeah…"

"When are you coming back to school?"

Mika sighs, "I have no idea. I don't really see the point, maybe I'll move back to the complex."

"You don't even like it there."

"What else is there to do."

Lacus hums. "Yuuichirou got in a fight with Narumi the other day."

"Hm."

"We don't know over what, but he was angry. I'm surprised he actually won, guess he's not as weak as I thought."

"He was never weak."

"Maybe not physically."

"Whatever. I'm too tired to argue with you."

"...How bad was it?"

"It wasn't."

"Is that the truth or are you holding it in?"

"Does it matter?"

"Pretty bad then."

"...He used the shock stick."

"Ah." They lapse into silence for a while. "We're being sent abroad and you too, if you're up for it?"

"Anything to get away."

"You're not even going to ask where or what for?"

"No, I told you, I just want to get away.

"Alright then," Lacus ruffles his hair, "Get ready and we'll meet you at the airport in a few hours."

"Mmm."

Mika waits until the other boys have left before hauling himself out of bed. There really is no reason for him to go back to school, Yuu's done with him as he should be and Krul could always hire him more tutors. That way he could focus on what really matters and put needless distractions aside. Yeah...that sounds like the perfect plan.

Two hours later, he has a bag packed and he's headed to the airport with a new resolve. Mika checks his phone to see if Lacus and Rene have arrived yet and freezes when he sees text messages from Yuu instead.

His heart speeds up before he forces it to slow so he can think calmly about this. Yuu shouldn't be involved with him, they distract each other and then they both end up suffering. He can't live with that anymore, he has to focus, Yuu makes him weak. With a quick swipe of his fingers, he deletes the messages and tucks his phone away, bringing his shaking fingers back to the steering wheel. It's better this way.

~~~~~  
After days of wallowing away at home, Yuu finally came up with a plan. The only way he could figure out who killed Shinoa was to be on the inside. If he was an outsider, no one would ever give him information, but if he was with Mika and his terrible duo, there's a higher chance one of them might know something and let it slip.

If he found out a name, Yuu has no doubt that he could get Mika to help him target the culprit. He likely already feels guilty about not doing anything to prevent her death, it shouldn't take much to convince him to help. That is if he hasn't completely shut Yuu out yet.

Knowing that Mika always expected their relationship to fall apart still leaves a sour taste in his mouth and he could've already put the inevitable behind him. Yuu really hopes that's not the case because as much as he wants revenge for Shinoa's death, a large part of him wants to be back with Mika too, to be close to him and laugh with him again.

Now that some of his anger has subsided and he's had time to think, he realizes the thought of never being with Mika again leaves a hollow feeling in his heart, he hadn't realized just how big a part of his life the emotional male had become. And now he can't believe he turned his back on Mika, after promising to stay with him again and again. How could he do that? Fuck, he feels guilty now.

Yuu's glad he finally has his cell phone back again, the authorities searched and searched it for any hidden information until they were satisfied, so Guren took pity on his miserable existence and gave his phone first thing to do is reconnect with Mika and set things right.

 **[mika?]**

 **[are you there?]**

 **[hello?]**

 **[mika?]**

He gives it about 30 minutes, but Mika never responds to any of his messages. That's weird, he always responds. He could be working, but even that probably wouldn't stop him. He hates to do this, yet Lacus and Rene are his only other choices if he wants to find out where Mika is. Yuu quickly pulls up facebook, searches Mika's friends for Lacus, and sends him a quick message.

 **[hey, do you know where Mika is? He isn't answering messages and I really need to talk to him]**

 **[no hello? You're asking me information and you can't even say hi?]**

 **[sorry if i don't say hi to the person who nearly got me killed]**

 **[i'm waiting]**

 **[hello lacus]**

 **[that's better. ;) unfortunately for you, mika's going out of the country with us and never coming back to school, so you won't ever see him again :p tough luck]**

 **[what?! You're kidding me, right?]**

 **[nope]**

 **[but i don't want him to leave]**

 **[maybe you should've thought about that before you abandoned him :( you haven't reached out to him once]**

 **[there was a lot going on!]**

 **[yeah, and i remember telling you to leave him alone because if you left him, you'd hurt him]**

 **[i know, i realize that now and i'm sorry! Just tell me where he is, please?]**

 **[what will you give me for it?]**

 **[lacus!]**

 **[running out of time]**

 **[fine! What do you want?]**

 **[I don't know yet, but you better be ready to cash in anytime]**

This is a ridiculously bad idea, he wouldn't be surprised if Lacus called in a favor for something illegal, but the fact is he's running out of time, if Lacus is telling the truth and if he's not, then the deal is void anyway. **[fine]**

 **[excellent. we're going to France. Leaving from gate 15, flight leaves soon, you better hurry]**

 **[they'll never let me back there without a ticket!]**

 **[catch him before he goes through security]**

 **[how much time do i have?]**

 **[not long]**

 **[you already knew there was no way i'd make it!]**

 **[maybeee, but i could be persuaded to hold him up...if the price is right]**

 **[another favor?]**

 **[you know it ;)]**

 **[fine]**

 **[awesome! See you in terminal 2, don't take too long!]**

Yuu growls in frustration, Lacus is such an asshole. Then again, had he messaged Rene, he probably wouldn't have gotten an answer at any cost. Now, he owes two favors and he has no doubt Lacus will come after him if he tries to back out, but losing Mika permanently was the worse alternative.

If Mika's going to France, by the time he gets back, the damage might be irreversible. Yuu bites his lip in concentration, school is miserable right now, he'll have a better chance of getting revenge if he's with Mika, plus he kind of wants a break from the constant scrutiny of Guren, his friends, and his classmates.

Yuu sighs, Guren's going to be pissed about this, but he's leaving, There are things he can't accomplish staying at home and he refuses to stay here feeling useless.

He's not sure how long they'll be gone, but he packs enough for at least a week before calling a taxi and setting a text for Guren to receive in a few hours saying he's staying with Kimizuki. By the time Guren realizes he's gone, it'll be too late to stop him.

~~~~~  
45 minutes later, with passport in one hand and suitcase in the other, Yuu's anxiously looking around for that familiar head of blonde hair and those warm blue eyes. His heart speeds up when he finally spies his target heading towards the gate with his familiar companions.

"Mika!" Yuu hurries to him, unceremoniously shoving bystanders out of the way. "You didn't answer any of my texts." Yuu reaches for him, but Mika steps out of the way.

"What are you _doing here_?"

Yuu's taken aback at the harshness of his voice and how cold his eyes are. "I'm going with you."

"No. You're not."

"Why?"

" _Why?_ Has everything that's happened so far not been enough of a reason why? Don't be stupid, Yuu. Go home." He turns away.

"No!" Yuu darts in front of him. "I'm going with you. And I'm going to find out who killed Shinoa and make them suffer." Mika gives him an unreadable look and attempts to push him aside, but Yuu holds his ground. "Buy. Me. A. Ticket."

"No."

Yuu blinks and stares back in annoyance, Mika's actually serious about this. He really won't let him come. That's a first, he opens his mouth to argue, but Lacus cuts him off.

" _I"ll_ buy you a ticket, stop making a scene." Mika gives him a furious look before stalking off to the security checkpoint. Lacus drags him off to the ticket counter to purchase an additional ticket. "Do you even know what you're signing up for?"

"No, _you_ didn't tell me. I just needed to get away and also fix things with Mika."

"You're an idiot, I'm only letting you come because I know he probably needs you more than ever right now and contrary to what you might think I _do_ care about him. But, I swear if you fuck something up, I will leave you for dead."

"I won't, I'm not here to make things worse."

"Mika's in seat A, so I'll put you next to him. Although, I don't think he'll like it. But, first class has more space, so he should be able to avoid you if he wants."

Yuu nods in acceptance,"Why's he like this now? He's not the same, he hasn't smiled once."

"Extra training will do that to you. Makes you get a much better grip on your emotions. Give him some time, we all went through it. Mika just deals with things a little harder than the rest of us."

Yuu nods, but secretly he's worried, Mika's so distant right now and his eyes are unreadable apart from anger, nothing like the sweet Mika he's come to love. The one who's so easy with affection and gentle. Is this because he left Mika alone?

~~~~~  
Mika is furious. Now he knows why Lacus insisted on eating before they went through security, so Yuu could catch up to them. What the hell was he thinking? After everything, Lacus would still involve Yuuichirou? He's been the main one against Yuu from the beginning, now he's changing his tune?

He's still fuming when Lacus arrives and takes the seat next to him, "Calm down Mika, your favorite person is here, you should be ecstatic."

"I don't want him here."

"You'll hurt his feelings."

"You knew I didn't, yet you still bought him a ticket. Did you tell him where we were?"

"Maybe."

"Lacus, what kind of friend are you!?"

"A good, _very_ accepting one!" Mika gives a derogatory laugh, he may have been that way earlier, but now he swears Lacus just wants to see him suffer. "Also, you can't run from him, he's in the seat next to yours." If looks could kill…

Mika slips in his earphones and faces the window, he only has to endure Yuu's presence until they arrive, then they'll be divided up into their own rooms. This really is a bad turn of events, as much as he wants Yuu, keeping him out of danger comes first.

He's finally stopped himself from being so selfish and then what happens? Yuu shows up unexpectedly to shake his resolve. He won't ever be able to break away if Yuu stays around. Why is he even here anyway? They haven't spoken since the day of Shinoa's funeral and now he pops back up?

Yuu wants revenge, but if only he knew he was right here with her killers, would he actually be able to do anything? Right now, he thinks of them as strangers, but if he realized it was two people he actually knew….this is a terrible situation all around.

If Ferid finds out about this, he may just decide to let some secrets leak and that spells disaster for them all. He swears he'll run before letting himself be punished again, not a chance.

He's so frustrated, he's trying so hard to do the right thing now and it's all going wrong, he just can't win.

Technically he could bail, this assignment wasn't from Krul, but they would be pissed since he already accepted plus that would just leave him stuck here at Yuu's mercy. It's a relief when they call for boarding, he can feel Yuu staring holes into him and he's eager to get started so they can end this assignment.

Unfortunately he forgot just that quickly that the other boy would be next to him and twenty minutes after take-off, Yuu is wedging himself into Mika's seat, taking up the remaining space available. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem and he'd adjust to make room for him, but now...it makes staying away from him just that much harder.

"Mika, how long are you going to ignore me?"

"I wouldn't have to if you had _gone home,_ " he responds trying to force some space between them. But Yuu's not having any of it, winding a leg and an arm around Mika to keep him in place.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I came to your house, I-"

"Does saying sorry change the fact that Shinoa's dead?"

Yuu flinches, "No, but-"

"Then why would 'sorry' help anything? It's meaningless and it changes nothing."

"But I-"

"No, Yuu, sorry doesn't magically fix things." Mika squirms out of his hold, "I'm going to sleep, if you're staying over here, I'll take your seat." He steps over Yuu's legs and into the next seat, grabbing the blanket before turning over, "Consider taking the next plane home when we land."

~~~~~  
Yuu was completely blindsided by Mika's refusal to even listen to him, yeah maybe he did let himself vaguely imagine the worst, but he never actually thought Mika would have fully given up on them.

Maybe….there was a lot he didn't understand, you don't stop loving someone that fast, you just can't. He didn't even stop loving Mika when he found out what he'd known, so how…?

He looks over at Mika's still form and sighs, it seems like they've gone so far backwards they're not even at step one.

Yuu feels like a fourth wheel throughout the entire day, from the plane ride, through dinner, and even more so when they reach the hotel. At which point he's exhausted and just wants to sleep, preferably with Mika though he knows that's a long shot.

"Okay Mika, you and Yuuichirou are in that room and we're next door," Lacus informs them.

" _What?_ We were sharing a room."

"Yeah, we _were,_ but now Yuu is here."

"So what!"

"So you two can share."

"No!"

"Mika, there's no reason for all four of us to share a room and if he's got his own room, it only makes since for one of us to share."

"Then why don't _you? You_ invited him."

"Sorry," Lacus shrugs, "he's your ex, not mine."

Mika's face turns red, "I'm not sharing a room with him," he says in a low voice.

Yuu's still hurt that Mika's shutting him out like this, but that was the last straw. He gets it, Mika's through with him, but he doesn't have to treat him like shit. This isn't his fault, he didn't ask for this either!

"Well that's great cause I don't want to share a room with you either! You can sleep in the hallway for all I care!"

There's silence in the hall. "Well then we're in agreement," Mika turns to leave.

"I didn't ask for this either, Mika!"

He looks back at him blankly, "Yeah, you kind of did, I told you I didn't want you to come. That was your own stupid decision."

"No, it was _yours._ You're the only one who made stupid decisions around here. I never asked you to talk to me. In fact _everyone_ , especially _me,_ would have been better off if you'd just stayed the hell away instead of dragging me into your mess!"

There's surprised silence and Yuu sees the hurt in Mika's eyes before he schools his face back to an empty expression. "You're right, that was a _huge_ mistake on my part. One that I regret making every time I look at you, it wasn't worth it."

Yuu sucks in a breath, but Mika's already disappeared down the hall before his brain can even formulate a response.

"You know," Lacus comments, "I brought you along to help him, not make it worse."

"Doesn't look like he wants help from me," says sourly.

"Keep trying, who knows what he's thinking."

"Keep trying?" Yuu looks at him disbelief, "Did you just hear what he _said_?"

"I heard him and I heard you. Don't be fooled, he's still in love with you."

"Not sure where you heard that."

"Lacus means," Rene interrupts, "if he didn't still like you, he wouldn't try so hard to push you away. He wouldn't care what you did or what happened to you. Your actions wouldn't affect him in anyway, it wouldn't bother him that you were near."

"Right."

"You'll eventually see we're right," Lacus adds. "Anyway see you in the morning."

Yuu heads into his adjacent room, he wouldn't be surprised if Lacus has been messing with him all along, it seems just like the kind of tasteless thing he would do. In which case, it really was a bad idea to come here and now he's stuck in a foreign country.

Guren doesn't even know where he's gone, so asking him for a ticket is out of the question especially since he's technically still on house arrest. Either way Guren is going to be furious, but having to buy him an expensive plane ticket to get home would be the icing on the cake.

At least they'll only be here for two days if all goes well is his last thought before falling asleep.

Yuu's awoken sometime later that night by Mika reentering the room quietly. He doesn't turn on any lights, just strips down, and climbs into the second bed. In his sleep addled state, he's not thinking clearly and his first reaction is to join Mika under his covers.

Needless to say, he's wide awake when he's abruptly shoved back out. Yuu blinks confusedly before cursing. "Mika, I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"It doesn't matter and I'm trying to sleep Yuu," he responds pulling the covers over his head.

"Yes it does! I need you to know I didn't mean it!"

Mika's muffled voice comes out, "We both know you've been thinking it, don't lie."

"Mika!"

"Can we please talk in the morning?"

"Will you actually talk to me?"

"..."

"Mika, don't shut me out. We _can_ fix things."

"I don't want to, things are fine how they are."

"We both know that's not true." Fake snoring is his only answer. Yuu reaches across and grabs the blanket from his bed before settling back down next to Mika's covered form under his own blanket, looks like this is as close as they'll get to sleeping together.

Come morning they're both grouchy, neither of them having gotten much sleep, Mika from coming back late and Yuu from a fitful night that resulted in Mika shoving him off the bed. It pissed his sleepless self off enough that it almost resulted in a physical fight, but he decided it wasn't worth it and moved back to own his bed.

Quite a difference from Lacus and Rene who once again, look refreshed. Seriously nothing ever fazes those guys, Yuu thinks. It's made all the more apparent when upon their arrival, Lacus grins at their clear annoyance with each other.

"Good night, guys?"

"Shut up Lacus. Let's just get breakfast."

"Whatever you say.."

At breakfast, he's back to feeling like a fourth wheel and any attempts to talk to Mika are met with the same cut offs as when they were getting dressed. Yuu _knew_ Mika wouldn't talk to him in the morning, the jerk.

"No matter how much you scowl at your croissant, it won't magically disappear," Rene comments.

"Huh?" Yuu looks at him in bemusement.

"If you don't like it, order something else."

"No, it's fine. I was just thinking about how I knew Mika wouldn't talk to me this morning either." Yuu feels Mika tense next to him, so he _is_ paying attention. " _And_ I'm wondering if he was lying all those times he said he loved me, seems like it." Mika turns to him sharply. "Problem Mikaela?"

"No," he mutters.

Rene clears his throat, "From what I understand, Lacus invited you because Mika has some issues he needs to deal with and he was interfering where he wasn't wanted." Rene finishes with a look towards Lacus who holds his hands up placatingly.

"I just thought Mika needed a little boost, I didn't know he was going to be so uptight."

Mika takes a deep breath through his nose. "Thanks for the concern guys, but really I'm fine. I was having a bad day. I just need some time to think. I'll wait for you all in front of the hotel," he says before leaving without a single glance back.

"I wonder if he'll disappear on us," Lacus wonders curiously.

"He's done it before," Rene agrees.

"What?! And you're just going to let him go?!"

"Calm down princess, even if he leaves, he always comes back."

Yuu scowls, "Don't call me that."

Lacus waves a dismissive hand, not bothering to reply.

~~~~~  
After breakfast, much to Yu's relief, Mika is actually waiting for them and Lacus shoots him a snide grin. Despite his relief, the rest of the day is still a tense affair with no one acknowledging the elephant in the room, though Yuu desperately wishes it wasn't there. Then he could focus on the enjoyable part of this trip.

They first spent time scoping out the building to make sure there was nothing suspicious, then had lunch. During lunch is when Lacus received a call telling him that plans had changed and they would only be meeting a contact there to get the actual assignment. After that, there's not much point planning anything when everything will be completely different now, so they spend the remainder of their time wandering about the town.

Yuu's never been to France before and the smaller town they're in is really beautiful. And although, they go to a bunch of different shops, what should be the best part of the trip is hard for him to enjoy when Mika's still so far away from him. So, it's hard for him to take in the sights when he spends most of the time watching Mika who pretends not to notice.

When night falls, they head back to the meeting place and Mika gives Yuu his phone with strict instructions to wait outside for them.

"Why am I waiting outside?"

"Because you're not supposed to be here."

"But what if you need help?"

"We're just having a quick meeting, besides...I don't know how much help you'd be this time either."

Lacus snorts, "He's got a point there. But, if he wants to come, just let him. You two can argue for hours now and I don't want to hear it."

Mika purses his lips in annoyance, but assents. Yuu _is_ probably safer with them than hovering around a building alone in a foreign country.

He trails after Lacus and Rene through the building with Yuu near him, he's done a pretty good job of discouraging Yuu's advances and after their fight, it's been even easier, but Mika still wants Yuu close enough to keep an eye on. He discreetly glances over at the black haired pale who's holding his gun tightly, he's not sure what it is, but he has a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It isn't until they're on the third floor that he realized why he's felt so on edge, why would they be meeting someone else for their assignment, even if they don't originate with her, all assignments go through Krul and she never mentioned anything about a trade off last time he checked in with her.

Lacus and Rene didn't know either until they got the call a few hours prior. If she knew, Krul would definitely have been suspicious and called him to get more details. Now that he actually thinks about it, this is starting to seem like a bait and switch. He's been too distracted by Yuu to think on it enough to realize, but they've definitely already taken the bait.

He can already hear footsteps approaching, even if he runs there's a high chance they still won't escape. But no one knows about Yuu, so the least he can do is get him out of harm's way. He glances around until his eyes land on a partially open door, it looks small and cramped but they can't afford to be picky. Mika abruptly shoves Yuu in and hisses at him to be quiet as footsteps approach. He glances up to see a man standing in the hallway. His hands may be empty, but Mika can tell from the way his clothes fall that he's armed.

"Are we meeting you?" Lacus questions.

"Yeah, I'm Domeric, sorry about the late change of plans."

"It's fine, what's the new assignment?"

Mika takes a step back and the man's eyes dart to him. "I'll be right back, I think I forgot my cell phone near the entrance."

Lacus and Rene both glance at him in confusion, but Domeric answers before they can, "It's okay, this will just take a minute."

"Sorry, it's kind of important, I'll be back in a second."

"No."

At this point, Lacus and Rene can also tell something is wrong and back up to flank Mika on either side.

"Who are you?"

"Some people think it's time for Krul to be replaced and what better way to start than taking out the only person keeping her from being alone." He turns to the other two boys, "We were hired by your parents so don't worry, you'll be safe. It's just Mikaela who this ends badly for."

Mika raises his gun to fire, but he's knocked sideways by another guy they were too distracted to notice coming up behind them. Faster than he can regain his balance, Domeric has joined the other guy in pinning him to the ground and he can only watch helplessly as three other men come up behind Lacus and Rene covering their mouths. Whatever was in the cloth was fast acting because they're out in seconds and he takes a second to be grateful he pushed Yuu away beforehand.

~~~~~  
Yuu stays absolutely still in the closest, barely daring to breathe. Things have just escalated so fast and he's at a lost for what to do. He remains in place until he's sure all three boys have been dragged away. His eyes dart around to make sure it's clear and he hurries in the direction they took Mika.

It's bad.

They have him tied down and are in the process of asking relentless questions about Krul, holding his head underwater everytime he refuses to answer. It's clear they don't expect him to answer, nor do they care if he does. They barely give him any time to answer before pushing him back under. Domeric, in particular, just seems bored with the whole process and it hits Yuu, they're just waiting for him to die.

His first thought is to shoot them, but there are three more men in the building who would come running if he did that and there's no way he could drag Mika out while fighting them off. Fuck, he curses silently. He's not sure how long Mika can last, he has to think fast. Yuu takes a quick steps back into a small room out of sight, calling Krul as quickly as he can.

"Mikaela? Did the assignment go well?"

"No! It was a setup!" Yuu blurts out, "They're torturing him and Lacus and Rene are unconscious!"

"...Yuuichirou?"

"Yes!"

"What are you doing there?"

"It doesn't matter! You have to help Mika! They're only killing him to hurt you!"

Krul takes a deep breath, "There's nothing I can do. You're in another country and anything I do would have consequences. Contacting the authorities would lead to many questions and likely you, Mika, and me would still end up dead. Come home Yuuichirou."

"You're not going to do anything!?"

"What would you have me do?"

"I don't know, something!"

"I'm far away and my hands are tied. I have no authority in France. Anything I tried to do would likely be too late."

Yuu hangs up abruptly. Mika would do anything for her and she's useless when he's being killed. He's not sure how good a plan this is, but it's his only choice. He dials the police and in English carefully explains their location and that his friend is being hurt, leaving out most of the damning details.

They tell him to stay on the line, but Yuu hangs up. He has to get Mika, they won't make it in time to save him now, their only purpose is to arrive in time to help them escape the building. Yuu squats down outside the door, making sure to keep himself out of sight and releases the safety, taking careful aim….he's a second away from squeezing the trigger when the culprit's phones chime simultaneously.

"Shit," He hears Domeric curse, looking around wildly. "Someone alerted the police, they're on their way. We've gotta go." He gestures towards Mikaela who looks on the verge of passing out, "Wrap this up!"

Not a chance, Yuu thinks and fires two shots at Domeric as his partner forces Mika's head back under water. There's no way he's going to let them get away with this. One shot hits him in the stomach and the other in his arm. Domeric's partner turns in his direction and Yuu shoots for his arm before he can reach for his own gun. He's still moving, so he aims for his leg as well.

He rushes into the room, kicking their guns away in case they wake up to protect himself and pulls Mika's head up, "Shit Mika, are you okay?" He groans before throwing up water in response. "We've gotta get out of here, the cops are coming! Can you walk? Nevermind, you'll have to." He grabs the knife from Mikaela's pocket and saws through the ropes, almost slicing his finger in his haste.

Yuu throws one of Mika's arms over his shoulders and grips his waist. Geez, Mika's heavy, he thinks, especially when it's all dead weight. He's not even sure the blonde male is conscious at this point. Yuu glances back to make sure they're still incapacitated before dragging Mika out of the room, doing his best to shake him awake. Two flights of stairs will be a challenge in this state and they're running out of time.

Between Yuu's constant shaking and his urgent words, Mika manages to wake up enough to help get them down the stairs, but still too slow, he can already hear the sirens in the distance. They burst out of the backdoor and stumble down the street. "Mika, where do we go? I don't know anything about this place!"

"Ngh."

"Wake up! I need to get you to a hospital!"

"No...we have to hide...out of sight."

Yuu grunts as Mika becomes dead weight again, there's no way they can make it to the hotel like this and if they don't stay out of sight, someone will no doubt call the cops and neither Krul nor Mika seem to want that.

He only manages a few blocks away from the building when he feels his legs start to give out. The only hiding place nearby is an alley, it's not particularly covered or well hidden, but if they hunch down out of sight, it should be safe until Mika can support himself. Yuu maneuvers them behind some boxes just in time for his legs to collapse on him.

They hit the ground hard, but he's the only one who seems to feel it, Mika never even wakes up. He scoots against the building, pulling Mika with him and hiding them from view. They're really in a shit situation right now and more than anything he wants either Mika to wake up or to call Guren and have him take care of everything, but Mika doesn't look like he's waking up anytime soon and the latter would cause more problems after the initial solution.

Yuu lets his head fall back against the wall in resignation and once the adrenaline wears off, he's overcome with exhaustion and as much as he tries to keep his eyes open in case of danger, he can't and soon enough he's just as unconscious as the male resting against his side.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

* * *

Yuu wakes up cold and stiff the next morning, but fortunately Mika is still alive and breathing beside him. It's been this long and no one has found them, so it's probably safe to leave now. He shakes Mika, "Hey wake up, it's morning. We've gotta get out of here."

Mika slowly opens glazed over blue eyes and looks around in a daze, "Where are we?"

"In some alley. You couldn't go far, but said we needed to find a place to hide before you passed out. Are you okay now?"

"Besides feeling like I slept in an alley, yeah." Mika gazes at him silently.

"What is it?"

"Yuu-chan...I….I'm sorry."

"Huh? Oh that...It's okay!"

"No, it's really not."

"You're...right, it's not. But we can talk about that later. Right now we need to get off the street."

"Yeah, it should be fine now. Let's find the hotel and you can get our stuff. There's a safe house not too far away by train."

"A _safe house_? Shouldn't we be getting on a plane back home?"

Mika shakes his head, "It would be better to wait until everything has calmed down somewhat. They probably think I'm dead and I don't want to let them know I'm not just yet. They might decide to move against Krul if they know they've been exposed. Have you talked to anyone?"

"Just Krul." Mika looks at him sharply and he holds up his hands, "Not recently, it was before I got you, I called her for help, but…"

"She didn't do much."

"She said there wasn't much she could do without there being consequences and of course she was surprised I was even here."

He nods, "Help me up."

Yuu stands and cringes as his body cracks from the movement before reaching down and pulling up Mikaela who looks to be in no better shape than him. He pulls Mika into a quick kiss, then hastily backs up. "Just in case I never get to do that again," Yuu responds to his questioning look.

He looks away, "You picked a filthy alley, I feel disgusting."

"Sorry for not being picky when I was trying to keep us both safe!"

Mika shrugs, "Hand me my phone, so I can find the hotel."

Yuu hands it over and watches Mika pull up directions, at least he's talking to him now. Not that he has much choice, it's only the two of them and he _did_ just save Mika's life. But, did it actually change anything?

The blonde male gestures for Yuu to follow after him as he lets the GPS lead them back to the hotel. He stops a block from the hotel and instructs Yuu to get their things and check out of their hotel room.

"You're not coming with me?"

"No, if anyone's watching, they may recognize me, it's safer if just you go, they don't know you."

"You'll be here when I get back, right?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Yuu gives him a meaningful look and Mika feels guilt turn his stomach. "Yeah, I'll be here."

Mika takes a seat on a bench while Yuu heads off. He's been terrible to him the past 24 hours and it's not Yuu's fault at all. He thought keeping Yuu away was the right thing to do for both of them and it probably is, but Yuu's so stubborn he's making it impossible to do and his response was to be even meaner without ever explaining anything to him.

But there was no point, if Yuu forgave him, he already _knew_ they'd end up right back together and that wouldn't help either one of them. Yuu was trying to talk to him again, that inevitably meant he was willing to work through everything, but he wouldn't agree with Mika's view and it would lead to nothing but arguments. Shutting him out was the easiest way to deal with him, though that still ended up leading to fights.

Yet even after that, Yuu still risked his own life to save him, he really felt he didn't deserve the raven haired male. Yuu should just be done with him and safe at home with his family and friends.

"Mika?"

He looks up at Yuu who has their suitcases and is grinning down at him, "I love you."

Mika looks away, "You shouldn't."

"But I do, so say it back."

Mika stares at him, "Why would you ask me to say that after everything?"

"I'm not asking, I'm telling. Lacus says you still do, is he lying?"

"Maybe."

"I'm not leaving here until you say it."

His eyes widen in disbelief, "We're in _danger_ here."

"Then _say_ it, so we can leave."

Mika mumbles something unintelligible before muttering out a 'I love you.'

Yuu grins in satisfaction, "That'll do….for now. Which way to the train station?" Mika stands up, takes his suitcase, and heads North. "Don't be sour, Mika!" Yuu grabs his hand, "We're alive and together, what more could we ask for right now?"

"You safe at home."

"I'd rather _both_ of us be safe."

He sighs, "It's about a three hour train ride."

" _That's_ short?"

"Mmhm."

Mika drags him forward into the train station, purchases their tickets, and heads towards the platform. "You better have put me next to you," Yuu says as they enter the train.

He hadn't actually thought of that, he was too busy buying their tickets as fast as possible in order to leave the city, separating them never even occurred to him. Yuu snatches the tickets from his hand and crows in delight, "You did!"

"Not intentionally."

"Yeah, it was, you do still love me!"

"Whatever, Yuu-chan!" Mika takes his seat and stares out the window, grimacing when the other boy's reflections joins his in the window a minute later and he feels lips on the back of his neck. Yuu slips arms around his waist and for the briefest moment he allows himself to revel in his hold.

"Stop pushing me away," he feels Yuu breathe against his neck.

He sighs and relaxes, after all he can't fight Yuu for three hours, they'd both get thrown off the train if he tried. Mika can practically feel him gloating as Yuu moves a hand from his waist to intertwine their fingers. He's accepted his fate right up until he feels Yuu lick a long line down the back of his neck.

"Yuu-chan, that's gross!" Mika breaks out of his hold and frantically wipes his neck, eyes narrowing as Yuu sits back laughing at him. "It's not funny!"

"Yeah, it kind of was. Consider it the beginning of my payback for the last 48 hours."

"I didn't even do anything!"

"Hmm...you kicked me out of the bed, ignored my texts, yelled at me…" Yuu ticks off on his fingers one by one. "I can go on?"

"No! I get your point."

"Good."

Mika closes his eyes and reclines his seat, "I'm taking a nap. Wake me when we get there."

"I'll try."

~~~  
Almost three hours later Mika wakes to Yuu's hands around his waist and the other boy practically glued to his side in their adjacent seats, embarrassingly enough it's not Yuu that wakes him, but one of the train attendants.

"Sorry for waking you, but he dropped your tickets and your stop is coming up next. It didn't look like you'd wake up in time."

"It's no problem, thank you." Once the attendant leaves, Mika pries Yuu off him to the other boy's grumbling protest. "Wake up, we're almost there!"

He peeks open an eye, "If I wake up now, I get to sleep with you tonight."

"You've been hanging around Lacus too much. I don't make deals. You wake up or stay on the train."

"You're no fun."

"Were those deals you made with him fun?"

Yuu looks away, "He hasn't called in his favors yet, so I don't know what I owe him."

Mika winces, "You really dug your grave with that, he could ask for anything."

"I _know,_ " Yuu groans.

"I'll help you," he says simply.

"Huh?"

"If it's something too terrible, I'll help you." He stares at Mika in surprise and a grin starts slowly spreading across his face. "Don't say it."

"Actions speak louder than words."

"Let's go, it's a long walk to the house."

He follows Mika out of the station and immediately his eyes fall on the line of stalls selling a variety of food and his stomach lets him know just how much he's neglected it.

"Hey, Mika! I'm starving, can we get some of these?"

"Buy whatever you want, I don't think there's food at the house."

"Then I'm buying everything! French chocolate!"

"Don't forget you have to carry all that!"

"No problem. Hey, I don't have enough euros," Yuu says, looking through his wallet. Mika sighs and hands over his own. "Thanks Mika!" Yuu glances back to make sure his companion isn't watching before filling up an entire bag with chocolate and baked sweets, hastily paying for it all.

"I saw that."

Yuu hands back his wallet guiltily, "You're the best?"

"Uh huh."

It _does_ turn out to be a long walk, almost an hour. Although, fortunately Mika took pity on him fifteen minutes in and took his suitcase, so he didn't have to struggle with it _and_ two bags of food. Still he's thrilled when they reach the house and even more excited when he's sees it's near the beach despite the chillier weather.

He'll have to convince Mika to go out there after he finally eats.

~~~~~  
Mika watches fondly as the raven haired boy enthusiastically digs into his treats, trying every type of chocolate and getting it all over his mouth and fingers. He has no idea how Yuu can be so cheerful with everything that's happened, but he assumes the chocolate is a big part of it.

"You're going to get a stomachache if you keep that up."

"Nah, I'll be fine. Try this one," he suggests, biting into another chocolate and pushing the other half into Mika's mouth. "It has caramel in it."

"Hmm, it's a little too sweet for me," he replies, taking a macaron to clear the taste out of his mouth.

"More for me!"

Mika shakes his head as Yuu begins on the pastries, of course starting with the chocolate croissants first. How did he ever get lucky enough that Yuu reciprocated his feelings? And all he did was ruin everything for him. One of his best friends was killed, he's now suspected of being an accomplice to murder, he's been suspended from school for fighting, and now they're hiding in a foreign country, everything has gotten so out of control.

He glances up when Yuu flops back on the sectional with a content smile. Now that they're safe and nothing urgent is pressing down on them, Mika figures it's about time they finally talk and get things ended. "Yuu-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

"Uh sure." He sits up on the couch, leaning back against one of the armrests and Mika comes to settle between his legs.

First things first, "Yuu-chan, I'm sorry that Shinoa was killed."

He deflates somewhat, so it's going to be that kind of conversation. "Me too...I mean she really only wanted to protect me."

"And she was right about everything, about me and about what could happen."

"No," he shakes his head, "she wasn't right about you. You didn't ask for any of this and you're _not_ bad."

"Yuu-chan…." He's so positive and it kills Mika inside knowing he brought Yuu into all of this. "I'm sorry I pursued you."

"Mika don't. I chose to reciprocate, I didn't have to."

"But _you_ didn't know, I did. That puts the blame on me."

"Please don't play the blame game. At this point it doesn't even matter anymore, we can't change anything."

He looks away, he doesn't think Yuu will agree to this, but it would be wrong not to try. "Actually, we could go almost back to the way things were before, you with your friends and me with mine."

" _What_ friends? You don't have any, remember?" He questions harshly.

"Yuu-chan, I-"

"If I recall, their parents turned on you, but got them out safely. You really think you all can go back to being a happy group of three after that? Because I don't."

He blinks, taken aback by Yuu's sudden aggression. "Okay, well you back with your friends."

"And you? Miserable, but alone this time?"

"That's fine with me."

"No it isn't and it isn't with me either. Just come out and say it, you want us to break up."

"We're _already_ broken up."

"No, we're not," he shakes his head. "If we were, I wouldn't be here with you right now."

"But-"

"Face it Mika, I'm not going anywhere, so just stop trying. I already know you still love me despite what you're saying, give it up so we can stop arguing because I'm sick of it. There's only one ending this conversation is going to have, so accept it now."

Mika stares back at Yuu's unwavering gaze, he _knew_ this would happen. Yuu didn't even let him set it up to show the reasons why separating would be better, just steamrolled right over him. It's frustrating to say the least.

"Hey Mika, it's okay," Yuu says in a gentler tone. "Everything will work out. You don't have to carry everything by yourself. I promised you I wouldn't leave you and I won't."

"You're too good to me."

"Yeah, well when this is over. I expect the same. I'm talking you making me as many strawberry shortcakes as I want and lots of massages also! To get rid of all the stress you cause me! No complaining either!"

"Alright." Yuu glances back at him in surprise, reading the agreement in his eyes and they share a meaningful smile. As if he wouldn't do anything for Yuu.

Yuu grins before throwing himself at Mika who opens his arms to catch him. He feels Mika burying his nose in his hair and Yuu pushes himself closer in his embrace, holding on tight. It's been so long since they've been together like this, he missed Mika even more than he realized. His warmth, his scent, his sweetness, the feeling of being wholly loved…it feels right, it feels like home.

~~~~~  
"Mika, you destroyed my castle!"

"Ah, is that what that was?"

"Yes!"

"Looked more like a lopsided hill," he says unapologetically.

"Let's see you do better!"

"Nah, I have better things to do."

"Like collect shells?" Yuu scoffs, crossing his arms.

"I'll have you know these shells will serve a _very_ important purpose," he responds in an affronted tone.

Yuu raises an eyebrow, "Such as?"

"You'll see when I'm done."

Yuu rolls his eyes and falls back on the sand as Mika heads off to find more shells, giving up on his castle. He's almost positive Mika ruined it on purpose, so if he tried to build it again, he wouldn't be surprised if Mika stepped on it again, just to annoy him.

He turns onto his stomach to let the sun warm his back and glances around the empty beach. It was his idea to come out here, even though Mika said it was too cold, but who could pass up the beach? Still, he's surprised there's _no one_ out here. It might be the fact that it's the middle of the week and everyone's at school or work, but the beach is desolate.

Although that's not really a bad thing, they don't have to talk to anyone else or answer any questions and if he has to strangle Mika for harassing him, no one's around to witness it. Speaking of which...Yuu sits up and his eyes scan the beach for that familiar head of blonde hair.

His eyes find their target a little ways down the beach making something out of shells. Yuu hops up, perfect time to return the favor. He doesn't get within a foot of kicking the shells before Mika shoves him back, "Don't mess up my shells."

Yuu peers at the sand in front of them, "Are you...spelling our names with seashells inside a seashell heart?"

"No."

"That's what it looks like."

"Then don't ask!"

"Mika, that's so sappy."

"No one asked you!" Yuu snorts as Mika places the last shell down before turning to frown at him. "Come here."

"I'm not going to help you."

Mika grabs him by the waist and pulls him into his lap. "You don't have to help, just sit there and look pretty." He pulls out his phone, "And smile."

"You're seriously taking a picture of this?"

" _Smile._ "

Yuu turns back around and waits until Mika's perfectly positioned the phone to capture both them and the heart before flashing a grin, if only because it'll make MIka happy. He abruptly shoves the phone away when it seems like the other boy won't stop with the photos anytime soon. "Let's go to the water," he suggests, wriggling out of Mika's hold.

"But, it's cold."

"Just our feet then. Come on or I'll delete all those photos while you sleep."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me. Up." Yuu drags him to his feet and to the water, kicking off his shoes and socks before entering the water and taking a seat in the warm sand.

He was right, it is too cold to get in the water, so they can only have their feet in, but fortunately it's still a nice day due to the strength of the sun's rays. It's low tide now, but it won't be long before high tide comes in and they have to move backwards. Yuu glances over at Mika next to him.

He's so _so_ happy they talked things through, even if he wasn't thrilled with Mika's thought process. But it's peaceful now, sitting here with him. He scoots closer and slips his fingers between the other male's. As much as he wants the atmosphere to remain the same, he hasn't given up on finding out who Shinoa's murderers are.

Yuu wiggles his toes in the sand before finally broaching the subject he's been wanting ask about for a while now. "Do you know who killed Shinoa?"

Mika's gaze flicks over to him, "Krul didn't order her death, so it had nothing to do with us."

"She had no part in it?" Yuu asks in disbelief. If Krul knew nothing about it, then Mika wouldn't either and his chances of finding the culprit drop drastically.

"Krul is not the only upper echelon, there are others below her and if they don't like what she's doing, of course they'll act without her consent. She's not for sure who ordered it, but if she can ever get control, she can weed out the dissenters and that would likely take care of whoever it was."

Yuu hums in thought, so he'll have to help Krul in any way he can and hope she gets control in order to help himself. He gazes back towards his companion, that shouldn't be too bad if he's by Mika's side.

Mika leans over, pressing his forehead to Yuu's and smiles. "Are you going to kiss me this time? Last time you didn't, you were such a tease."

He laughs brightly and Yuu's overcome with happiness to hear him laughing again. "I didn't know you wanted a kiss then, Yuu-chan. You were shy with affection."

" _No_ , you were inappropriate!"

"Suuure."

"You-" Mika cuts him off mid protest with a kiss, his fingers winding into Yuu's hair. For the next few minutes, there's nothing but the sounds of the beach and the soft sucking sound of their kisses.

"Happy now?" Mika whispers against his lips.

"Mmm...I guess."

"And you said _I_ was the tease."

"Still do," he replies, looking back towards the ocean.

They stay like that for a while longer until the sun starts to set and the temperature drops. Then Mika decides he's done with the cold and insists they get out of the water before Yuu gets sick, ignoring Yuu's comment on the fact that he was the one that got sick from the rain previously.

Back inside, once they're shaken free of sand, freshly showered, and in pajamas, Yuu wedges himself under Mika's arm on the couch to rest his head in the other boy's lap, hoping he won't comment on it.

"What's up, Yuu-chan?"

"Nothing, I just want to cuddle. Rub my stomach."

"Huh? Why?"

"Ugh, just do it Mika! You should want to make me happy!"

"...You have a stomachache, don't you?"

"Is wanting to cuddle so wrong?"

Mika huffs out a laugh, "I told you so," he replies, moving his hand to Yuu's stomach.

"Yeah, yeah." Yuu sighs happily, moving his fingers to cover Mika's and stretching out further against the couch. "Say it all you want, just don't go anywhere," he responds, shutting his eyes.

Yuu's eyebrows wrinkle slightly as he feels Mika brush hair away from his forehead, "I'm not going anywhere, Yuu-chan. You're stuck with me, for better or worse."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 20

* * *

"Guren!" He stands up from his seat in a hurry when he sees the white haired male come running into his office. "I finally found out why Mikaela looked so familiar."

Guren sits back down with a sigh, he'd thought Shinya might have news about Yuu. He'd gotten a text message from Yuu that he was going to Kimizuki's and by the time Guren found out it was a lie, Yuu was long gone to who knows where. He'd gone by Mikaela's house to see if he had any idea where Yuu might have gone, but every time he knocked or called, there had been no answer. He would have assumed they'd run off together, but according to Yuu's friends, he and Mikaela hadn't been talking recently, so he's not sure how plausible that scenario is anymore.

In addition, he hadn't been able to get in touch with Mikaela's parents or anything, the numbers the school had were disconnected and there was a false name listed on the school forms. Pretty suspicious if you asked him, but he hadn't had time to dwell on the boy's living situation. Although, whenever he finds Yuu, after he wrings his neck, he really should look into Mikaela more. Yuu spends so much time with him, he's been negligent not to ask more questions. "That's not really important right now, is it Shinya?"

"But it is!" Shinya takes a seat across from him and lays the file on his desk. "Do you remember Mahiru's death?" He questions quietly.

"Of course," he responds tensely. It's not like he could forget.

"And it was because she was working both sides. We don't know how, but the Tepes' organization found out and they had her killed."

"Right," he murmurs, "But we could never prove it, though we all knew."

"Yes and we ended up meeting a lot with Krul at that time, she was doing her best to 'help' us. Mikaela was with her."

" _What?"_

"He didn't talk much, but I noticed that he always stuck close to Krul or Ferid and she never let him far from her sight. According to this, Krul adopted him. He's officially her son and has been for a while now."

"Fuck."

"So, I think it's safe to say Mikaela is involved in whatever illegal things they do these days."

"And Yuu may have gotten himself mixed into it." Once again he can't believe he's been so careless especially after Shinya's prior warning.

" _If_ he's with Mikaela, probably. But Mikaela had been missing school for a while now, it's just as likely Yuu _isn't_ with him." Shinya continues in a quieter voice, "This must have been what Shinoa wanted to tell me."

"How did she know and not you?"

"I didn't live in the house, she did. She was probably eavesdropping on a lot of the conversations going on, it's not surprising she would have gleaned information and known the truth about Mikaela. The Tepes organization controls their secrets tightly, of course she wouldn't have wanted to let on that she knew."

Guren is silent for a moment. "Are they the ones who killed her?

"Huh?"

"You said 'they control their secrets tightly,' could that be the reason she was killed?"

Shinya blinks, "I never thought of that."

"Because we never knew what she knew about Mikaela and had no reason to suspect she would be a target for them."

"It's the best lead we have so far."

"Let's go pay her a visit."

"Do you really think she'll admit it?"

"No, I don't expect her to at all, but if she's got nothing to hide, she has no reason to refuse to talk to us."

"We should go armed just in case."

"Wasn't even a question."

~~~~~  
Yuu wakes in Mika's embrace, the other boy must have carried him to bed again last night. It's become a common thing after the first night he fell asleep in his lap, which is just as well, his stomach was killing him that night. He'd rather sleep it off than admit to Mika he was right about all the sweets, but he was hungry! It had been almost 24 hours without food plus adrenaline spikes burn calories, he couldn't help it if he went a little overboard. Besides it's not like he's opposed to falling asleep on the couch and waking up in the bed, as long as Mika's there when he opens his eyes.

Although that might end soon. They've been here a few days now and Mika said they're heading home today. He can't say he's not nervous though. His phone's been off ever since he sent that final text to Guren and he's probably worried and furious by now. He wants to avoid facing Guren's wrath as long as possible. Yuu also has no doubt that Guren will try to drag him back home, but he promised Mika and he's going to see this through to the end, no matter what.

"What are you thinking so hard about this early in the morning?" Mika questions, smoothing the furrows between Yuu's eyebrows.

Yuu stretches his arms to wrap around Mika's neck and pulls himself halfway onto his chest, "About how angry Guren's going to be when I get back."

"Ah," Mika says thoughtfully, bringing a hand up to stroke Yuu's cheek with his thumb. "Yeah...but it's also not fair to let him stay worried."

"You let Krul stay worried."

"That's different."

"Right. Because even though you know she was helpless, you're still resentful that she didn't do anything."

Mika frowns, "I never said that."

"You didn't have to, I've been with you for three days, I know. I can also tell you don't want to go back anymore than I do. You're happy here, away from everything and everyone….with just me," Yuu adds with a grin.

"Well, you may be right about _that_ part."

"I'm right about all of it. You're not the only one who can pay attention."

"Hmm..."

"Admit I'm right," Yuu admonishes, leaning to forward to rub his nose with Mika's.

He laughs, "Eskimo kisses? Really Yuu-chan?"

"Shut up."

Mika tilts his head to meet Yuu's lips instead, spreading his legs and pulling Yuu fully on top of him to settle between his legs.

Yuu slips his fingers around Mika's neck, pulling himself up for a better angle, breaking the kiss and gasping in surprise when he inadvertently rubs his crotch against Mika's. "Umm…" Mika gazes back at him before dropping his hands to Yuu's hips and pushing him back down against the building warmth between his legs. "M-mika?"

He doesn't respond, instead capturing Yuu's lips again while rolling his own hips against the other boy's. Yuu lets out a quiet groan at the sensation, pulling Mika closer and matching his pace. Other than the hand job that feels like forever ago, they've never done anything like this and he's surprised at how good it feels. He wants more. He forces his tongue into Mika's mouth and pushes harder against him, reveling in the friction.

He's so caught up in the rhythm that he's taken by surprise when Mika flips them over, pressing him into the bed and easily removing Yuu's shirt to slide his mouth to Yuu's neck. He doesn't bother holding in his sounds of pleasure when Mika begins sucking a path down his neck, simply wrapping a leg around Mika's waist to keep him close and better keep up with Mika's increasing pace.

Yuu cries out as Mika's fingers begin squeezing one of his nipples, one hand clenches in Mika's hair and the other reaches between them to try and shove his boxers down, the hard warmth of Mika is teasing him and he wants skin against skin _now._ His body shudders in anticipation of having Mika's bare length pressed against his and he's got his boxers halfway down when Mika's phone starts vibrating, playing a reminder tune, and startling them both.

Mika freezes and looks back at Yuu, seeming to realize for the first time what they're actually doing and how far it may end up going. "Uh…" Yuu says nothing, desperately fighting the urge to force Mika to continue, even if they do miss their plane. "We s-should...stop before we miss our plane."

Yuu swallows tightly, "Y-yeah," but internally his body is telling him that they absolutely should not stop and with Mika still looking at him uncertainly with those lust darkened blue eyes, he's close to letting his body take over.

The blonde male sits back, scooting away from Yuu as if he can read something in his gaze and gives him one more quick look before hopping off the bed. Stopping right now is so frustrating, Yuu thinks. He didn't even know sexual contact was something he wanted, he hadn't really had much time to think about it. But now...he looks down, it seems it's something he very much wants if how fast he was turned on is any indication.

Mika leans against wall in the bathroom to calm himself down, that nearly went too far, too fast. It wouldn't necessarily be a _bad_ thing if it had, they are dating after all, but right now is not the best time for it. He's lucky his phone went off when it did because he has a feeling if they kept going, it wouldn't end with just one round. That would be the tip of the iceberg, their clothes would come off next and they really didn't have time to get lost in each other right now. Judging from the look in those emerald eyes, Yuu was ready to push everything aside to keep going if he hadn't left.

The throbbing between his legs grabs his attention again and he glances down, looks like they'll both be taking care of themselves alone.

~~~~~  
Mika keeps his gaze fixed on Yuu, who's unsurprisingly buying souvenirs and more sweets with his wallet again. He's pretty sure no one is looking for them at this smaller airport he chose to depart from, but he prefers to keep an eye on Yuu anyway just in case.

His eyes trail slowly down Yuu's body and he sighs, it had been a long walk back to the town and a long trip to the airport after, filled with tension between them. Usually they'd be making jokes or talking, but the atmosphere had been tense and every time their arms brushed or any part of them touched, they both jumped away.

Even on the train ride, Yuu was careful to stay out of Mika's space and in his own seat. The weight of things left unsaid pushing down on both of them. He has no idea what's going to happen when they get back home, but he can almost guarantee it won't be pleasant. Yuu probably won't even get to stay with him, though he seems hellbent on trying. Guren seems like a strict parent and once he gets hold of Yuu, it'll likely be years before Yuu gets a semblance of freedom again. He'd hope that Yuu is at least cleared of all suspicions in Shinoa's death by the time they get back, but since it looks like he cut and ran, that didn't do him any favors towards proving his innocence.

"Miiiiika."

"Hm?" He looks up to see Yuu waving his wallet at him. "Sorry."

"It's not like you to zone out."

"I'm just thinking."

"About what?" He questions, dropping into the adjacent seat, and passing over Mika's wallet. Instead of taking it, Mika grabs his hand between both of his own, and watches Yuu's face gradually get redder. "Why…?"

"You've been avoiding touching me."

Yuu averts his gaze involuntarily, "I h-haven't."

"Are you sure?" Mika teases, flipping Yuu's hand over to run his fingers lightly along the underside of his wrist. His arms twitches and he tries to yank his wrist free.

"I'm positive."

"Then why are you trying to pull away?"

"I'm not!"

"Yuu-chan."

"It feels weird, okay?!"

"Are you sensitive here?"

Rather than answer, Yuu yanks his arm away as hard as possible, nearly losing his balance in the process. "Very funny, Mika."

He shrugs, "I was just trying to understand."

Yuu jabs him in the chest with a finger, "Well don't. Come on, they're boarding."

Despite Mika's provocations, he's thrilled that this plane ride they're getting along. Although the past few days have been doing wonders for his Mika fix, it's still nice to be near the other boy again without feeling waves of hostility rolling off him. He'll enjoy it while he can because Guren's gonna kill him.

~~~~~  
Shinya watches as Guren paces back and forth across the room. Surprisingly enough, it was easy to be granted admittance. Once they introduced themselves and explained that they wanted to talk with Krul, security cleared them, they were let in without a problem, and escorted to this large room to wait. It slightly resembles a throne room with no seats except for one at the front and he can only wonder if that's intentional.

However, the fact that they were admitted so easily can only mean if the Tepes' organization has something to hide, they've already hidden it well and their chances of finding out the truth are slim. If they were responsible for Shinoa...he couldn't do anything to them about Mahiru, but he won't give up on finding Shinoa's murderer.

They both look up over as the door opens and Krul walks in and takes a seat with a smile. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"We want to know who killed Shinoa," Shinya responds immediately.

"How would I know that?"

"Because we've realized Mikaela is your son and why you had a reason to target her."

"You mean because she didn't know how to get her mouth shut and stay out of affairs that don't concern her?"

Shinya steps forward with clenched fists, "Death was not the answer."

"Careful, you wouldn't want me to take that as an act of aggression, would you?"

"Like killing her was an act of murder? You can't kill who you please."

"You know," Krul says, folding her hands. "I think she knew all along that talking about us was dangerous, why do you think she tried to do it quietly? I'd say she knew and acted anyway. If that's why she was killed, then it was her own fault."

Shinya raises his gun to meet her unflinching gaze, "Who was it?"

"None of your concern."

"Was it Mikaela?" Guren interrupts.

"If it was him, do you really think I'd tell you? I believe we're done here. You know the way out." Guren raises his gun to match Shinya's. "Stop with the bluffing, we all know you will not fire and the only thing you're doing is annoying me. I've spoken with you and you have your answer. Leave."

"We're not leaving until you tell us who did it or we can also open back up Mahiru's case also."

"Do what you will."

"If we succeed in proving you were behind both of them, this whole organization goes down, you, Mikaela, and everyone in it or you could just give us a name."

"I have no doubt you won't succeed, besides….do you really want to put all of us in prison considering who has recently joined us."

"Huh?" Guren questions, but he already has a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Krul's gaze shifts to a door on the side where he can already hear footsteps approaching. His worst fear is confirmed when Yuu steps through the door and blinks shocked eyes at him. Mika immediately runs over and puts himself between Krul and their guns, but Guren's gaze is fixed on Yuu. "Where the hell have you been Yuuichirou and what are you doing here?!"

"M-me? I'm here with Mika…"

"You've been here the entire time? Since you ran away from home?"

"No, not exactly." He says sheepishly, "But what about you? What are you doing here?"

"This isn't about me, Yuu! You're a suspect, you were grounded and you ran away after texting me a lie! Do you know how fucking worried I was?! Do you know how bad that looks?! And now she says you've joined them! What the hell is going on?!"

"Well...Mika is with them and I promised him I'd stay with him."

"Yuu! Do you know these people are the ones who _killed_ Shinoa?!"

He looks down, "Yeah I knew."

"You _knew?_ You knew all along and you said _nothing_? How could you lie about something like that, Yuu?!"

He looks back up to meet his guardian's gaze and his anger is even worse than Yuu expected. His eyes are narrowed into slits and his face is red from fury. Shinya has a hand on his shoulder to calm him, but he's also giving Yuu such a hurt, disappointed gaze that he can't help but feel guilty.

"I couldn't say anything, I didn't want the same thing to happen to me."

"But you're choosing to stay with them anyway?"

"I promised Mika." And I will find out who killed Shinoa, he thinks. But, saying that as his intention aloud probably isn't wise right now.

Guren's eyes shift to Mikaela, "This is your fault. I knew there was something wrong with you since the beginning." Mikaela inclines his head in agreement, but says nothing. "You don't have anything to say? You dragged Yuu into this and now you're silent?"

"He didn't drag me into this!" Yuu interrupts, he and Mika have already had this conversation and he doesn't need Mika changing his mind from guilt right now. " _I'm_ choosing this. It's my decision."

"And he has nothing to do with it?" Guren glares back at him, shrugging off Shinya's hand.

"It doesn't matter why."

"Enough Yuu. Let's go, get over here. We'll talk about this later."

"Will you let me come back to Mika?"

Guren looks at him in disbelief, "Hell no!"

"Then I can't go with you," he responds, stepping closer to Mika and Krul. "I'm sorry."

"You can't be serious. You barely know this kid, Yuu."

"I'm not coming, Guren."

He shares a look with Shinya and they both step forward together.

"That's far enough. Yuuichirou has made his decision. He is staying with us and if you move against us, he will suffer also. We have nothing further to discuss." Krul makes a gesture with her hand and several guards step forward. "It was a lovely meeting. Goodbye." She turns towards the back exit, "Mikaela, Yuuichirou, let's go."

Yuu gives one final glance back, feeling his stomach turn sour at the repercussions of his decision as he watches Guren and Shinya be herded out the door, before turning and following after Mikaela.

~~~~~  
"Are you okay, Yuu-chan? It's not too late to change your mind, I can talk to Krul for you."

"Nah," he shakes his head, "I'm staying with you. I can always talk to Guren after."

"If he'll talk to you," Mika mutters.

"Mika." Yuu grabs his waist to pull Mika down next to him and straddles his lap, cupping his face to look him straight in the eye, " _Support me_." He's made his decision, now he just needs Mika to understand and stop questioning him. He's just pushed Guren away, he wants comfort from Mika more than anything right now, not endless second guessing and worrying.

He looks away guiltily, "You're right. I'm sorry, Yuu-chan. I'm probably making this harder for you."

"It's okay," Yuu sighs and pulls Mika into a tight hug before getting up and climbing into bed, "Just trust me."

"I will," Mika promises, joining him under the covers. Yuu watches Mika get settled, but his mind is suddenly miles away from Guren, eyes zeroing in on the skin teasing him as Mika's shirt lifts up, already feeling his arousal growing.

Mika settles facing Yuu and smiles until he catches Yuu's eyes and it fades somewhat. Sleeping together isn't as innocent as it used to be now that he remembers what happened earlier and the change in the atmosphere is intimacy makes Mika's blood rush and apparently the feeling isn't lost on Yuu either because he's already reaching for him.

Yuu's too impatient to wait, shoving his boxers off eagerly and climbing on top of Mika in his haste to finish what they started previously. Mika responds in earnest, sliding his own briefs off, and lifting his hips up, gasping at the sensation of Yuu's hardness pressed against him. The dark haired male is quick to lock his arms around Mika's neck and roll his hips for more friction.

"Yuu-chan…"

"No questions, Mika," he pants out.

He smiles lightly and grasps Yuu's ass in both hands, pressing him closer and meeting each roll of his hips. For someone so hesitant in the beginning, Yuu certainly seems to know what he wants, Mika thinks. He brings his mouth to Mika's, easily slipping his tongue past to deepen the kiss. Yuu groans in appreciation when Mika moves his hand to grasp their lengths tightly together, sliding his hand roughly along them.

Yuu's body tenses, he knows he isn't going to last long. A final squeeze is all it takes for Yuu to release on both their stomachs, but Mika holds himself back, letting go when he feels Yuu hit his peak. He scoots closer to rub against Mika, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder uncaring of the mess on both of them.

"Y-you didn't…?" He questions when he feels Mika's still hard cock poking him.

"No.." Mika's cheeks color slightly, "I want to...inside…"

Yuu pulls back to look at the blonde male, he's a little nervous, but he's not turned off at the thought of having Mika inside him. If it feels good on the outside, having that heat inside probably feels amazing. He glances down at Mika's erection pressing into his stomach and strokes his hand down the hard muscle, spreading precum from the tip to the sides. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think it'll feel good."

"Are you sure? We don't hav-"

Yuu cuts him off with a kiss, "No more questions. I said yes." Mika swallows and nods, reaching over to his bedside drawer and hesitating over the bottles before grabbing the small clear one. "You keep lube by your bed?"

"What else was I supposed to do with all those bottles we bought?"

"Return them."

"Let's both be glad I didn't."

Yuu shuts his eyes tightly as Mika preps him, wiggling at the intrusion, he wasn't expecting fingers, but for Mika to just put it in. He lets Mika guide him from his lap to lay on his back and he spreads his legs. He's just this side of embarrassed by the position, but Mika's giving him such a loving look that he can't focus on it for long.

His back arches off the bed and his mouth falls open in a silent cry as he feels Mika slide all the way into him, the thickness spreading him far more than fingers ever could. His eyes water slightly at the shock before Mika grasps both his hands and kisses him, distracting him from the unfamiliar sensation. He's just starting to adjust when he's empty again, Yuu frowns at the hollow feeling and then Mika's pushing back in.

Each time Mika's hard member slides in and out of him, Yuu moans in bliss. _This_ is what he wanted and it feels even better than he imagined, especially when Mika adjusts his angle to brush over that small bundle of nerves giving him even more pleasure. Mika's mouth is insistent on his, switching between catching his moans and giving loving attention to his neck.

Sex is something he wouldn't mind doing a hell of a lot more of with Mika. He tightens his legs around Mika as his pace increases, "Yuu-chan...I'm gonna…"

"It's okay...do it!"

Mika grasps him, finishing Yuu off again, following right after with a cry, his body jerking and going tense as he fills Yuu. He shudders as he feels Mika's warmth flowing into his body, making his already hot insides even warmer. Yuu turns as Mika slides slowly out of him to lay next to him, too tired from both his orgasms to do much more than cuddle close to the blonde male. "I love you, Yuu-chan," Mika whispers against his hair.

"I love you too." He grins slightly, "and sex."

Mika laughs fondly, pulling the exhausted male into a tight embrace as they both pass out.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 21

* * *

Yuu's eyes light up when they land on the cooker full of freshly steamed rice and he rushes into the dining room, filling up a bowl before gingerly sitting in the chair next to Mika, he's starving! Mika wouldn't get up, so he had to wait forever to eat. Not to mention his ass was hurting so much he couldn't get comfortable anymore once he woke up. Needless to say after a while he got impatient and Mika was pissed to be repeatedly punched until he woke up so Yuu could get breakfast. That's probably why he has that annoyed look on his face, but oh well Yuu was hungry. Waking up early once won't kill him.

"Mika stop looking at me like that. I gave you my virginity last night."

He immediately flushes and looks away, busying himself with his own breakfast and Yuu gloats. Mika better remember what they did last night, even if Yuu wanted it too.

Yuu's about to start in on the teasing when the click of heels announces Krul's presence and she takes a seat at the table with them. "Good morning. I take it you both slept well."

"Yeah," Yuu answers for them both since it doesn't seem like Mika will.

Krul sends him a pointed look, "You're already up, Mikaela. You may as well wake up and get out of your grouchy morning mood. I apologize Yuu. You're learning more of his annoying quirks."

Yuu smiles and shrugs, shoving more rice in his mouth, "I don't mind."

She nods, "More importantly though, I'm sending you both to Germany for a week, you'll leave today...unless Yuuichirou isn't up for it."

He looks over at Krul in confusion, "I'm fine. I think Guren will eventually forgive me; I can go."

She smirks, "I meant in case you needed to heal from your strenuous activities last night."

"My…" In an instant, Yuu realizes what she means and his face burns hot.

"Krul!"

"What? I came by to see if Yuuichirou was okay after yesterday's encounter and well...let's just say that from what I heard, he was more than okay. You both were and if he wasn't, he would be after."

"Krul, that's personal! You can't just spy on people like that!"

"I didn't _spy._ I left immediately once I realized. If you don't want people to know what you're up to, lower your volume."

"We were in my personal quarters, " Mika says crossly.

"I'm not reprimanding you."

"Then what-"

"I'm just letting you know, people can come by and Yuuichirou's loud moaning isn't subtle at all."

"Can we change the subject, please?!" Yuu interrupts before he dies from embarrassment. Mika didn't mention anything to him about being too loud and it's not like he would have noticed himself. Krul telling him about it is the last thing he wants to hear.

"Yes, back on subject. You're going to Lest Karr's headquarters. He's been led to believe after the previous incident, I fear for your safety, but I really want you to watch him. I'm suspicious of him and he may be involved."

"You think he's involved and you're still sending us?"

"He wouldn't do anything to you, he's not willing to implicate himself in this and no one except him knows you're coming or who you are. Stay out of trouble, pay attention, and you'll be fine."

"Mika?"

"It doesn't sound too bad, Yuu-chan."

"France didn't sound too bad until we ended up sleeping in an alley."

"This isn't like that. You can stay here if you want."

"And let you go alone? I don't think so."

"Then it's settled. Since Yuu's not hurting, you'll catch the next plane. The sooner I find out if my hunch is correct, the better."

Yuu looks down at his plate, he doesn't actually want to go to Germany. He wants to stay here with Mika and not endanger themselves in another foreign country, especially since now he knows Krul can be of no help while they're gone. Mika doesn't seem to think anything will go wrong, but after France, he's not letting his guard down. There were four of them and they still almost died.

If this is the only way to help Krul then he has no choice, he'll just have to watch Mika as close as Mika watches him. They can only trust each other.

"Yuu-chan, it'll be fine. It's not like you to worry, that's my job."

"I can't help worrying now, I almost lost you. I don't want to end up back in the same situation."

Mika leans over to plant a kiss on his cheek, "Let me worry about that."

"No way! We're a team, if I can't share the burden then what am I here for?" Silence and the averting of his eyes is the only response to his question. "Mika…" He starts in a warning tone.

"What!? I didn't even say anything!"

"I can see it on your face!"

"But I didn't _say_ it."

"You may as well have," he mutters.

Mika grabs him in a side hug, squeezing tight, "Don't worry, Yuu-chan, I won't let you leave. You're mine forever!" He says before kissing obnoxiously from Yuu's ear down his neck.

"Ugh!"

" _All mine."_

"If you two are done, feel free to prepare for your trip," Krul comments with a raised eyebrow.

He sighs and lets go, "Yes Krul. Give us an hour. Come on, Yuu-chan, first one ready gets the window seat!"

"Wait Mika!" Yuu hastily pushes his chair back to go after the other boy, "You know I can't run right now!"

Krul watches as Yuu jumps on Mika's back rather than run himself and gives a small smile. She could tell from the first time she saw them together that Mika had already fallen hard for the raven haired teen. For Mika's sake, she hopes everything works out.

~~~~~  
Yuu cranes his neck to see what Mika's working on. He's been on his laptop since they boarded the plane which he thinks is a waste because Mika didn't even look out the window once during take off. That's the best part! He should've gotten the window seat if that was the case.

"Hey Mika?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you working on?"

"Just some stuff Krul wanted me to look at, so we wouldn't be too lost in Germany."

"Ah good thinking."

"You can read too if you want."

"Nah, I won't ever be far from you, so I'm good," he replies, taking hold of Mika's free hand.

Mika shakes his head, but can't hide the small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "Whatever you say," he replies, looking back to his screen.

"Hey Mika?"

"Yes, Yuu-chan?"

He brings Mika's hand to his lips, "Why weren't you at school that whole week? More assignments?"

"Something like that."

Yuu frowns, emerald eyes narrowing over their interlocked fingers, "No more secrets Mika."

He sighs, "After you left that day, I was really upset and did something I shouldn't have." He pauses, "Well, several things I shouldn't have and I was punished for it."

"Oh. Like what?"

"Yuu-chan! Do you have to be so curious?!"

"What?! I'm just asking! I wanna know."

"Too bad. It's not important."

"I'd tell you!"

"I got drunk, jeez!"

"That's not too bad. What did Lacus mean when he said 'extra training makes you get a much better grip on your emotions?' "

Mika shoots him a sharp look, "He said that?"

"Yeah…"

"Weird, I don't know what he meant by that."

Yuu squints at him, "Are you lying to me again?"

"It really isn't important."

"Then tell me."

"When we start making decisions based on emotions instead of logic, we go back through training to hold our emotions in, that's all."

"Oh. What's the training like?"

Mika abruptly pulls his hand away, "I don't want to talk about it."

Yuu blinks in surprise and takes in Mika's guarded posture and expression, maybe he pushed too far this time. It looks like he hit a sore spot, but it's hard not being able to know everything about Mika. Yuu leans over to kiss his ear, "Okay, we don't have to talk it. I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It's fine," Mika responds, reaching back for his hand. Yuu nods, but promises himself one day he's going to know all there is to know about Mika.

It's early evening when they land in Germany and Mika immediately grabs a taxi, handing over the address Krul gave them. He doesn't live too far from the airport and it's not long before they reach his mansion in the middle of sprawling grounds. After giving their names at the gate, they're granted access and dropped at the front door where several housekeepers are waiting for them.

"Dinner will be served shortly, but first I'll show you to your rooms. Unfortunately Sir Karr won't be joining us tonight, however he welcomes you," one of the housekeepers announces upon their arrival.

She points out the dining room as they follow her upstairs, Yuu's grip on Mika's arm never wavering. "Here is your room Mikaela and Yuuichirou's room is-"

"Actually," Mika interrupts, "we'd rather share a room."

"We have more than enough rooms available."

"We'd rather sleep together."

"Alright. If that's what you want. I'll see you downstairs."

Yuu follows Mika into the room and dumps his bags. "I miss home already."

"I told you that you could stay," Mika calls from the bathroom.

"I wasn't going to leave you for the thousandth time!" Yuu rolls his eyes and continues before Mika can argue, "I hope they have something good for dinner, the plane food sucked."

"Yuu-chan...it's going to be German food here too."

"They don't have Japanese food?"

"We're in _Germany."_

"But, I'm hungry and I don't want anymore of those giant sausages."

"I'm sure there'll be something you can eat and if not, we'll find something in the morning."

"My poor stomach…"

"Up."

Much to Yuu's disappointment, they don't have anything familiar at dinner. They serve Sauerbraten, which Mika says is some kind of German roast beef, Yuu doesn't eat it and Kartoffelklöße, potato dumplings which turn out to be okay. In fact, he eats his and Mika's too, ignoring Mika's look of disapproval when he steals them from his plate, although he offers his Sauerbraten in exchange which Mika declines of course. Yuu really wants to ask the chef for more dumplings, but isn't sure how that would go over, so he sulks at the large table until Mika finally finishes picking at his food. Now he feels a little guilty for stealing Mika's dumplings.

Though on the way back upstairs when Mika says they'll definitely head out to find breakfast first thing in the morning, he can't help but cheer even if it means Mika's just as hungry as he is.

"So, what are we supposed to be doing here anyway?" Yuu questions as they change for bed.

"Right now we're waiting. We're supposed to be spying on Lest Karr, but since he's not here, there's not much we can do. We'll have to wait until morning and hope he shows up."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Stay here longer till we find what Krul wants. She sent us here for a reason."

"Ugh," Yuu moves over to wrap his arms around Mika and kiss his shoulder. "You're so loyal."

"Krul gave me everything."

"Yeah I know, " he sighs. "I just wish it hadn't come with so many strings attached."

"I'll get through it."

" _We_ will get through it."

"Mmm."

"Then we're running away together after high school."

"What? We are?!"

"Yep, to college," he laughs.

"Yuu-chan…"

"Don't worry, if you wanna run away before then, I'm all for that too."

"You'll have to be if you want those cakes and massages."

"Oh yeah!"

Mika turns to give him a peck, "Sleepy?"

"Yeah…though I wonder if it'd be bad to have sex here," Yuu ponders as he settles next to his other half.

"Yuu-chan!"

"I'm just asking!"

"Did you already forget what happened with Krul?"

"No," he huffs. "But, who's going to come up here?"

Mika smacks him with a pillow, "Go to sleep!"

"Fine, but just think about it," he responds, tangling their legs together. "I brought lube," he whispers.

"I thought you hated that stuff."

"No, I hated you buying bottles of every flavor, _that_ was embarrassing."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbles sleepily.

Yuu pouts, but lets Mika sleep. Maybe this way, he won't have to fight him awake in the morning and they can get food faster.

~~~~~  
 _Mika smiles at Yuu as the other boy kicks water in the ocean. He doesn't understand how Yuu can play in that freezing water, but Yuu paid him no mind when he said it wasn't a good again, if Yuu does actually end up sick, he can return the favor by taking care of him and he has no doubt Yuu will curl up close to him, letting Mika hold him the entire time and that actually sounds really nice._

 _He takes a step towards the other boy when Yuu appears to lose his balance and go under. Mika races towards him, but the second he reaches the water, everything changes and now he's the one being pulled under while Yuu desperately reaches for him. He's stretching as hard as he can towards the surface and Yuu, but no matter how hard he swims, he's dragged farther down._

 _He can feel the tears streaming from his eyes as the salt burns them and his fear growing as the darkness closes in. He opens his mouth to scream for Yuu, but no sound comes out instead water fills his mouth and he's choking and suffocating and dying and no one's there to help._

"Mika!"

"Ngh.."

"Mika!" Yuu roughly shakes the jerking male until he opens his eyes and focuses on Yuu. "Are you okay?"

Mika glances around warily at Yuu's concerned expression and the unfamiliar room, letting the panic from his nightmare recede, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Yuu uses his fingers to wipe away some of the tears still leaking from his eyes, "Doesn't look like it. What happened?"

He turns his face to nuzzle into Yuu's palm, "It was just a dream."

"Dream or nightmare?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Mika, you were whimpering and crying."

"No, I wasn't."

Yuu takes his hand away and stares down at the blonde male, "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Lying and shutting me out."

"Seriously, it's fine," Mika replies, reaching towards him for comfort.

Yuu turns his head away, avoiding Mika's touch, "I don't want to hear it unless you're telling me the truth."

"It really is fine! haven't had nightmares in forever. This one just caught me by surprise, maybe because I've never been here, but I'm probably just tired."

"You told me you were fine with coming here."

"I am fine! I'm gonna get something to drink and go back to sleep."

"You haven't had a single nightmare since everything happened until we came here. Tell me being here has nothing to do with it!"

"It doesn't!" He insists, scooting away from Yuu to the edge of the bed.

Yuu grabs him by the arm, yanking him backwards on the bed, and glaring down at him. "So we're away from everyone in a place you've never been and you start having nightmares, but they have nothing to do with each other?"

Mika stares straight up, stubbornly avoiding the emerald eyes hovering above his face, "It's a coincidence."

"Fine Mikaela. Do what you want. I can clearly see you don't trust me."

"It isn't like that," he mumbles tiredly.

"Uh huh."

"Yuu-chan...do we have to do this right now?"

"No time like the present."

Mika sits up and yawns, "Then you'll leave it alone?"

"Nope. Now I know something's wrong."

"It's not, I'm fine."

"Stop saying you're fine! I already know you're not!" Yuu yells in annoyance. "I'm sorry," he says at Mika's wary look. "That came out wrong."

"It's okay. I'm gonna head to the kitchen. I'll be back."

"Come here," Yuu spreads his arms open, but Mika frowns back at him instead of obeying. "You know you want to."

"I don't."

Yuu rolls his eyes and crawls forward to pull Mika back into a hug. "I just meant please talk to me more. It's so hard to know what you're thinking." He pauses, he's about to manipulate Mika again, but this time he can't even feel guilty. Afterall if Mika would open up to him more, he wouldn't have to. "It makes me sad when I see you holding things in and I stress out since you won't talk to me. Then I can't sleep because I'm so worried about what's bothering you, last time you acted like that, it was about Shinoa…"

Mika immediately turns around and hugs him, "Yuu-chan, I'm so sorry. I don't tell you because worrying you is the _last_ thing I want to do."

"So...you'll talk to me."

He sighs, "Yeah."

"Awesome, come on, maybe he has ice cream in the kitchen!"

Mika lets himself be dragged from the room and ponders the grin on Yuu's face and how his mood has done a complete 180. He has the sneaking suspicion he's just been manipulated _again_ , he'd think he would have learned to recognize it by now, but when it's happening, all he wants is to make Yuu happy. He shakes his head in exasperation, Yuu really does have a tight grip on his heart.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 22

* * *

Yuu takes another bite of his almost finished bowl of ice cream and looks up expectantly. Mika's been hiding his fears from him and he _needs_ to talk about them. He holds so much stuff in, it's unhealthy, not that Yuu could ever convince him of that.

"I don't like being here. Anything could happen again. I don't want to be away from home anymore for a while. I want to be where it's familiar and safe. I didn't have a problem in France because no one knew where we were and afterwards, we were back safe at the compound."

"Why didn't you tell me you didn't want to come?"

Mika shrugs, "What was the point? I'd be going anyway, I just had to deal with it."

"You haven't gotten over Domeric and the water, have you?"

"No."

"Mika, you can't hold stuff like that in."

"I wasn't holding it in...I just didn't want to talk about it."

"Did you tell Krul about it?"

"Noo…"

"You're such an armful," Yuu sighs.

"An armful?"

"I think I need more than a hand for you."

Mika snorts, "That's terrible, Yuu-chan."

"Tell me."

He looks down at the table, "I was terrified I was about to die and that they'd make it as painful as possible. I was scared Krul would be killed and I was worried about what would happen to you, all alone there...if you'd be able to make it back home. I guess I just realized how helpless I am sometimes and I didn't want to die yet. There's a lot I haven't done."

"Mika…"

"Coming here just made me have to face the fact that the same thing might happen again."

"I knew no one could bounce back from something like that so fast!"

"Yuu-chan."

"We should've stayed in France longer!" Yuu exclaims, waving his spoon, " _I_ was happy, _you_ were happy!"

"Krul wasn't. Guren wasn't."

"And who's happy now?" He challenges.

"We should go back to bed."

"Yeah, but promise me one thing," he replies, coming around the table to head back together.

"What's that?"

"Promise me that after this, you'll look out for _yourself_ first. I know you're loyal to Krul and I'm not saying leave her, I'm saying for you to be happy also."

"Hmm...I can't promise that, but I'll try."

He sighs and figures that's the best he's going to get from the blonde for now. "You can also look out for my needs too if you want."

Mika raises an eyebrow in amusement, "And what are your _needs_?"

"You know...different things."

"Are you soliciting me for sex again?"

"Why do you have to say it like that?!"

"Well, I have to know what your needs are to take care of them," Mika responds with a grin.

"But, you phrased it like I was a prostitute!"

"I seem to remember a night where you wanted to hang around the corner in front of a sex shop not too long ago," he teases.

Yuu gasps, "Shut up! That didn't happen!"

"Only because I kindly stopped you."

He mutters something lowly under his breath and stomps off ahead.

"Hey, it's okay, Yuu-chan. I'd definitely pick you up!"

"Mika!"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop before you wake the whole house up."

Yuu waits a few steps for Mika to catch up, "So...can we?"

Mika laughs, "You're so unromantic! And you complained most of the plane ride about how you couldn't get comfortable."

"That was in the past!"

He rolls his eyes, "Fine Yuu-chan."

"Yes! Meet you in the room."

Mika chuckles as he trails after Yuu, seems like the raven haired male has a bigger libido than him.

~~~~~  
"Mika! Ah!"

"Geez Yuu-chan, you're still so loud," Mika teases.

"Ngh! Shut up. If you don't want me to be loud…mm…then stop. It's your fault."

"Hmm…okay."

Mika stops moving and goes still, watching Yuu slowly come down from his high with a smirk. Yuu wiggles his hips, "What the hell, Mika? Why'd you stop?"

"You told me to stop making you loud."

"Mika, now is _not_ the time to be funny." Mika slowly draws himself out of him and Yuu clenches his legs around Mika's waist to try and hold him in place. "Cut it out, Mika."

"I'm feeling a little tired."

"You better not," he grits out. Mika collapses on top of him. "Miiiika! Get up, this isn't funny and you're crushing my dick!"

"Mmm." Yuu attempts to adjust, but Mika's too heavy and in this position, he can't even get friction where he needs it. He's about five seconds from twisting one of Mikaela's nipples off when he finally lifts up to support his own weight and give Yuu a kiss which he eagerly responds to, using the extra space to try and slide his body farther down Mika's.

The next thing he knows, Mika's turned on his back and lifted Yuu up to straddle him without even breaking the kiss. "H-hey, what are you doing?"

"Make yourself loud," Mika smirks at him.

"Are you joking right now?"

"Nope, think you can handle it?"

"It's not like I have a choice, since you're being a jerk."

"I'll help you."

Yuu braces his hands on Mika's shoulder and slowly begins to lower himself back onto Mika's length, squeezing his eyes shut, it feels different from being on the bottom and requires a lot more lower body strength to keep himself from going down too fast. "Does it hurt?"

"Of course not, we were just having sex. It's just harder. I like the other position better."

"Oh? Yuu-chan likes being on his back? I'm sure you'd love it if we made that happen more often."

"Shut _up_ , Mika. That's not- _ah_ what I meant and you know it."

"Eh? I only know what you said," he replies, resting his hands on Yuu's hips to push him farther down onto his dick, this pace is getting too slow for him.

"Slow down!" Yuu tenses up, he's feeling a lot fuller in this position and stretched even more as Mika continues to push him down.

"Why? You said it didn't hurt."

"It doesn't, just go slower."

Mika sighs and bucks his hips upward, catching Yuu by surprise, "You wanted to have sex again, now you want me to stop?"

"Fine, fine." Yuu wraps his arms around Mika's shoulder to hide his tense expression as he lifts himself up to lower himself down again, slowly adjusting to the different position.

"Yuu-chan, I want to see your face."

"Nope."

"You have to go faster then."

"I...can't."

Mika laughs and to Yuu's great relief, begins doing half the work again. "Better?"

"Yes!"

He turns to kiss the side of Yuu's head and weaves his fingers between Yuu's as their bodies move together towards completion. Yuu gives one final squeeze down on him and he comes, a quick stroke does Yuu in too and he groans in both pleasure and relief.

Yuu lets himself go slack atop Mika's lap in a sweaty mess, eyes shut from exhaustion, he's sated and tired all over now. "Are you gonna move anytime soon?" Mika questions in amusement.

"No, I'm exhausted, if you want me to move, you'll have to do it."

"You know I like it when you're close to me."

"Then I guess I'm not moving."

Mika kisses his forehead, "That's fine with me." He adjusts the pillows until he's comfortably leaned back enough to carefully pull himself out of Yuu and lay him on his side. It looks like Yuu wasn't exaggerating at all about being exhausted, he's already asleep and nothing but dead weight when Mika moves him.

He gazes over at him, tracing the darker haired male's lips with the tip of his finger and smiling before leaning forward to drop a soft kiss against said lips. Yuu is just as amazing as he was when he watched him from a distance, he thinks, switching to nuzzling into the crook of Yuu's neck and placing heavier kisses there. He couldn't imagine loving anyone more than he loves Yuu.

"Ngh...Mika...stop," Yuu mumbles, attempting to tiredly push his head away.

"Sorry Yuu-chan, he whispers against his neck. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmm."

Mika laughs quietly, moving slightly away to let Yuu relax back into sleep….he doesn't ever want to give Yuu up again.

~~~~~  
He's sorer than he expected the next morning considering it hadn't been long since their first time. It might have something to do with the position that Mika forced him into last night. It hadn't been as gentle as that first night, still great, but different. Maybe they should wait a while before trying something like that again. In his stubbornness he may have told Mika he was fine, but it was a bit harder on him than he let on, not that he'd ever admit that.

Jet lag had him up earlier than the rest of the house, he has no idea how Mika's still asleep when he's wide awake, but he was starving and unwilling to wait for the other boy to wake up. He figured he could go out and find something to eat and by the time he returned, Mika would be awake...or at least that was the plan.

In retrospect, wandering around without knowing any German in the hopes of coming across a restaurant wasn't the best idea. He didn't pay any attention on the drive there and he's been out here an hour and and he hasn't seen anything but houses and not the house they're staying in either. Forty five minutes in and he started calling Mika for help, but unsurprisingly he didn't answer.

Now he has no clue where he is and he's _still_ hungry. Not to mention, it just now hit him that he didn't get any more euros, so even if he found a store, he wouldn't be able to buy anything. His only hope is to stumble around and hope he finds the mansion again.

Twenty minutes later, he finally has the idea to climb a hill to orient himself before starting the trek back, he really wants to kill Mika for not answering his phone. When they live together, and they will because he's not letting Mika go far from him, not waking up in the morning is a habit he's going to break Mika out of. Anything could have happened to him and Mika wouldn't know because he'd still be asleep.

Yuu throws open their door and rolls his eyes at the blonde still curled up in the bed, before plopping down and poking Mika, who responds with a grumble before burying himself deeper in the covers. "Are you seriously not up yet?" Mika ignores him. Yuu slides on top of him and begins kissing his ear, "Come on Mika, get up already. I should be more tired than you, I did all the work!"

"Get off, Yuu-chan," he responds with a voice muffled by pillows.

"No way! I got lost and didn't find any food! You said we'd go first thing in the morning. Get up!"

"...an hour."

"No."

Mika turns over, dismissing him and Yuu glares before wiggling a hand into the blankets, ignoring the way Mika tries to get away from his cold fingers, to slide a hand under his shirt and lightly squeeze one of his nipples. The reaction is instantaneous, Mika flips back his covers and knocks Yuu's hand away. "Yuu-chan!"

"What?" He questions innocently, "I thought you'd like it."

"It's too early for this."

"Food."

Mika throws him off the bed, "Fine, but only cause I'm hungry too."

An hour later and they're finally eating. They were caught on their way out the door and told their breakfast was ready, it would be rude to refuse if it had already been prepared for them, so once again they were back at the table. But, as it turns out breakfast is a much easier affair of bread with jam, cheeses, fruits, and meats. Despite missing rice, it was delicious and Yuu was fuller than he'd been since they left home, much to Mika's relief. He had a feeling having Yuu wake him up every morning for food would have slowly driven him insane.

After breakfast, Lest still hasn't returned, so Mika suggests they go sightseeing. Yuu doesn't really want to go look at lots of old buildings and museums, but his only other option is to stay back alone which he wants to do even less. So, they end up spending the day wandering hand in hand though historic castles.

It may be boring, although it's not without it's perks, especially every time he manages to convince Mika to sneak off to some secluded part of the castles or gardens to share kisses. That's by far his favorite part of the day, even if Mika keeps pushing his hands away every time he gets too handsy for public. But that's fine, he can wait until they return and then Mika will let him do whatever he wants.

~~~~~  
Mika rests his head against Yuu's shoulder as the bus brings them closer to Lest's house, a stop then a short walk and they'll be there. Which'll be good because he's exhausted and not sure how much longer Yuu will be cooperative. A nice hot bath then a nap sounds like a perfect plan, he quietly hopes Yuu is just as tired as he is, so he won't object to a nap.

They've almost reached the front door with the housekeeper intercepts them requesting that they wait outside for a little longer while Lest deals with a private matter. Mika nods and they move towards the garden, briefly taking a seat before Mika's racing towards the side of the house.

"Mika, what the hell?! Where are you going?" Yuu calls, chasing after him.

"Private matter? This could be what we're looking for."

Yuu frowns, "But, it doesn't help us if we get caught."

"Which is why we're taking this side entrance."

He peers closer, "How did you know this door was here and what are you doing?"

"I was reading the blueprints Krul sent me on the plane and I made sure this door stayed easy to open in case we ever needed a quick escape."

"When did you have time to do that?!"

"While you were sleeping."

"Mika!"

"It was faster to leave you."

He opens his mouth to protest, but Mika hushes him as they quietly make their way upstairs, careful to keep out of sight as they near Lest's office. Yuu's eyes widen as he sees the man Lest Karr is rushing through the house, it's Kureto. Before he can make a sound, Mika pulls him roughly aside and covers his mouth with a quick whispered shush as he peeks back around the corner.

"Hurry, we haven't got long before that brat of Krul's comes back inside with his friend," they hear Lest Karr urge.

"What friend?"

"I neither know nor care. He simply came along."

"Why didn't you just tell me not to come?"

"And make myself look suspicious? You think it was a coincidence she sent them right before you were coming when it's too late to make unnoticeable changes? Any deviation may as well scream my cooperation in this."

"So, you let me come to keep yourself clear?"

"Yes. They're being kept outside for now, but we don't have time to waste. Tell me how everything is proceeding."

Yuu looks back in surprise as Mika drops his hand and steps back. He never thought he'd see Kureto here, maybe he's trying to find out what happened to Shinoa too, although Mika looks a little too worried if that's the case. "Why is Kureto here?" He questions anxiously, but Mika is silent as everything starts to make sense.

"Come on Yuu-chan, we need to go before anyone realizes we're inside."

"But-"

"Shh."

Mika leads them outside through the side door and back to the garden before finally releasing Yuu and sliding to the ground.

"What was that about?"

"It seems like Kureto is working with Lest to get back at Krul."

"What did she ever do to him?"

"You remember how Shinoa mentioned her sister was killed?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, she had joined our organization, but she was also spying on us for Kureto. It was discovered right after Krul took control, so she couldn't show any leniency."

"You mean…."

"Yes, she took care of it personally."

"Did Shinoa know that?"

"Everyone knew, but as usual no one could prove anything. She was their rising star, he's been trying to ruin her since, Krul's been working hard to cut him off. We didn't know he was working with that strong of an insider though."

"So, what now?"

"We tell Krul, pretend we don't know anything, and get out of here ASAP without it being suspicious."

"Are we still safe here?"

"As long as he doesn't think we know, he won't try anything." Mika gives him a once over, "Try to act normal."

Yuu nudges him, "You're the emotional one, not me!"

Mika frowns back at him, "I am not."

"Really?" Yuu begins making fake crying noises, "That sure wasn't me."

"Yuu-chan! That's not fair, I was upset!" He exclaims, fighting down his embarrassed blush.

"Emotionally upset."

Mika makes a noise of frustration and tackles him to the ground, "Stop teasing me!"

"So, only you can tease me?"

"Yes!"

"Nah, I like your reaction too much." He loops his arms around Mika's neck, pulling him down briefly for a kiss, "We both know you're a sap."

"Yuu-chaaan."

"It's okay, I like you like that."

"But, I'm supposed to protect you."

"I can take care of myself. You want to be a knight in shining armor, go date a girl."

Yuu rolls his eyes as Mika pouts at him and tugs him down for a longer kiss. He can feel Mika still sulking, so he takes the lead, slowly coaxing the other boy into cooperation. Yet Mika claims he's not emotional, Yuu internally laughs as Mika finally returns the kiss and practically demands control. But he supposes, just this once he'll give Mika what he wants.

They both freeze and spring apart when they hear a throat clearing and a voice question, "Am I interrupting something?" He raises an eyebrow as he looks up at the two boys giving him identical deer caught in the headlights looks. "I'm Lest Karr. Nice to meet you, unfortunately under such unpleasant circumstances."

Mika unfreezes first, standing up and dusting himself off, "Sorry about that, thank you for having us."

"It's not a problem, I'm happy to help. If you're finished here, we can go inside and talk." They nod meekly and follow him inside to his study. Once situated, he gestures to them, "Krul said you were caught in an unfortunate incident?"

"Yes. We were sent to France, but it turned out to be a trap. My two teammates were captured and we barely managed to escape."

He nods, "How did you manage? The details were very vague."

"I'm not sure how the police were notified, I like to think it was my teammates, but I'm not sure. Anyway Domeric and his group tried to escape when they heard sirens and I guess they got caught on their way out," Mika lies smoothly.

"Lucky for you. From what I hear, Krul thought you were dead for several days."

"Yeah, we thought it was better to lie low for a while until we left."

"Making the best decisions with the options given to you, I hope you keep that up."

"Huh?"

"Making the best out of a bad decision is what keeps us alive sometimes."

"That's true…"

"Well, feel free to stay as long as you need. I likely won't be around much, I'm kept busy."

Mika takes that as their cue to exit, pulling Yuu up and leaving the room with a bow.

"He _seemed_ nice," Yuu comments.

"Of course," Mika tugs him towards the front door. "I need to check in with Krul."

"You can't do that from here?"

"Did you see how easily we stumbled upon them? I don't wanna risk it."

"Mmm."

They stop a few blocks away at a bench and Yuu sinks into Mika's side as he dials. "Krul? No, everything's fine, I think I found the reason you sent us here…"

Yuu looks down at their clasped hands as Mika relays what they heard to Krul. Part of him is relieved they've found what she wanted so soon. He wants to go back home, he wants all this to be over, and to go back to his life, as close to normal as possible. Not that he'd admit that to Mika. He has no doubt Mika would cut him off immediately if he so much as hinted he was tired and missed home. He's not sure how Krul would react to that though.

"What's wrong, Yuu-chan?"

"Huh?" He glances up into Mika's concerned face, "Nothing, what did Krul say?"

"She said she suspected as much, stay out of trouble, and we can leave at the end of the week."

His eyebrows furrow, "We're not leaving now?"

"No, that's suspicious and we're still safe here for now."

Yuu fights down his dismay at the news and puts on a brave face, "Alright, that's not too much longer."

Mika stares at him, "We could probably get you-"

"No! I'm fine, it's cold. Let's go back and get something warm from the kitchen." Mika frowns, but lets Yuu lead them, this must be harder on the other boy than he let on.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 23

* * *

Several days later and they're finally departing for home. The remainder of the trip wasn't bad, he was with Mika after all, but just knowing how close everything was to being over made him antsy over the course of the week. Mika didn't say much about it, but Yuu could tell he was a little concerned despite Yuu's reassurances that everything was fine. The only time Yuu fully relaxed was when they were curled up together basking in the afterglow sharing gentle touches between each other, his favorite part of the day, when it seemed like everything would be fine.

When the plane touches down, there's already a car waiting to quickly shuttle them back to the compound and into Krul's office. They take seats across from her and prepare for whatever comes next.

"So," Mika starts, "Is that the evidence you wanted us to find?"

"Yes...I had a feeling Lest might have been involved. He's been subtly seeking to expand his power. He worked closer with Asuramaru, but I was not a fan of some of his methods. Through a certain spy I had planted, I found out Kureto had been in heavy communication with people in Germany and it aroused my suspicion. He was going on a trip there, so to find out for sure I sent you two to see if he came to Lest's. It was all made last minute, so there would be no time for changes."

"Then, there was a chance that this could have gone wrong?"

"Yes, but like I said, without knowing if we had evidence, he wouldn't have harmed you. Also the reason I didn't tell you my suspicions before sending you."

"Krul…" Mika sighs.

"I know, but with any luck this should all be taken care of soon and things will calm down. It just has to be handled delicately."

"But, you don't need us for anything right else right now?"

"No, you've done well, Yuuichirou." He glances over at Mikaela excitedly, now they can finally go back to some semblance of normal together. "Now it's time for you to leave," Krul continues.

"What?" He questions uncomprehendingly.

"It's time for you go to home. Your presence is no longer needed here. I'm sure Guren will be happy to have you back."

"With Mika…?"

"No, Mikaela's staying here for a while."

"I'm not leaving Mika," he states matter of factly.

"You are."

"You're seriously trying to force me out right now?!" Yuu protests, feeling his irritation growing.

"I am. I don't need you in the way."

" _In the way?_ I've been there for him when _you_ weren't!"

"And we both appreciate that, but now it's time to let us handle things."

"There's no _way_ I'd trust you with Mika anymore!"

"It doesn't matter how you feel at this point. Mika was foolish to bring you into this, you should be thanking me. The only way out of some groups is death, I'm letting you walk away clean."

Yuu swivels to his silent boyfriend, "Mika? You're going to let her throw me out?!"

"Well..."

"You're fucking unbelievable, Mika!"

"Yuu-ch-"

"No way!" He's sure his face is red from anger right now, but he's furious at Mika. He'd thought they finally had an understanding that they were in this together. "We said we would stay _together._ "

"That's when there was no other option."

"Oh, _sorry,_ I didn't realize it was dependent on the situation."

He looks away, "Yuu-chan, you know I love you."

"Shut up Mika."

"Yuu.." he glances up.

"If you cry right now, I won't ever forgive you for this. If anyone should be upset right now, it's me."

"I'm sorry…"

Yuu glares down at him, "If you're really sorry, you can fix it right now."

"Krul's right though."

He switches tactics, taking a seat, and grabbing Mika's hands, "I love you too, that's why I want to stay close to you. Don't you want that to?" Yuu questions, gazing imploringly into Mika's eyes.

"I.."

"Mika!" Krul cuts in sharply, "Do _not_ let him manipulate you. Isn't that how he got involved in the first place?" She makes a gesture with her hand, "Take Mikaela to his room and escort Yuuichirou home. Mika, I'll let you know the final plan later."

"But-" Yuu is abruptly cut off when one of Krul's big subordinates lifts him up and tosses him over his shoulder, carrying him from the room. He can't help but feel betrayed when Mika doesn't even resist. Yuu's thrown in a backseat and the driver pulls out as he glares out the window, but there's no point resisting anymore. Mika has made his decision, again.

It hits him about ten minutes later that he's actually about to be dropped off at home, that's when his hands start shaking. It's what he wanted, but Guren's anger is not. Shinya can't even be depended on to calm him down either, since Yuu has hurt him too.

He sits there, staring out the window when the car pulls up into his driveway. The driver turns around as the engine idles and raises an eyebrow at him as if to say 'well?' "I'm going...just give me a second."

He turns around and taps his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, "I have work to do, I'm sure it'd be better if I didn't have to carry you to your front door. But I will if you don't get out."

Yuu shoots him a dirty look before grabbing his bag and opening the door, might as well get it over with. He reaches the door and hesitates, debating whether to use his key or knock, after all, Guren may not even want to see him. The decision is taken from his hands when the door swings open and he's face to face with the man.

He clears his throat awkwardly, "Um..h-hey Guren, I uhh, I'm back ho-." He's cut off when Guren grabs the black haired male in a backbreaking hug.

"What the _fuck,_ Yuu?"

"I know," he gasps out with his limited air supply. "I'm sorry…" Guren shoves him back and punches him in the chest before he can even get the rest of his apology out. Yuu falls to his knees, wheezing, Guren didn't pull his punch at all, he thinks past the pain.

"Now you want to show up without warning?! Maybe I disowned your ungrateful ass! Did you ever think of that?!"

Yuu can't get a single word in throughout Guren's tirade until his guardian takes a breath. "I know I should have called or something but-"

He's cut off yet again when Guren drops to his knees also and squeezes him into another hug, "I was worried, you little shit," he says quietly.

Yuu sighs and relaxes in his hold, returning the hug. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all this to happen."

"You damn well should be sorry." He stands, pulling Yuu up by the back of his neck, "You're in so much trouble, I may even let the jail have you just to keep track of you."

"What?! No!"

"We have a lot to talk about," Guren replies, dragging him into the house.

~~~~~  
Mika frowns as he picks at his fish, Krul's confined him to his rooms as if she's afraid he'll run off to Yuu the moment he can. She isn't wrong, it was just easier to agree with Krul than try to fight her at that moment, but he has no intention of breaking his word to Yuu. He's just waiting until her back is turned to go to him. He's loyal to her, yes, but Yuu's an almost equal second priority for him now especially after everything they've been through, he's not going to push Yuu aside anymore. He can be loyal without obeying her every demand.

"Mikaela?"

He glares up at her entrance, " _Now_ you've decided to talk to me?"

"Don't be a child. I knew you needed time to yourself, preferably to _think_ about what's most important. Puppy love or life."

"It's _not_ puppy love."

Krul rolls her eyes, "Right. Putting the unnecessary things aside, I've been able to get a pretty good idea of who supports me and who doesn't."

"And what are you going to do?"

"The first thing is to eject them all, then reorganize without them. Afterwards, I can dole out a suitable punishment, most important is to close ranks."

He stares at her, " _That's_ what you're going to do?"

"Starting an internal war is the last thing we need to add to this. Now we'll have time to make decisions about how to handle the traitors."

" _What decisions?_ There's nothing to consider, they're traitors, _KILL THEM ALL!"_

Krul blinks at him, "You didn't used to have such bloodlust."

"That was before everything. I'm sick of all this shit and I don't want to deal with it! Just kill them and be done with it! I'll even help."

She gives him a long look, "This is really about being with Yuuichirou, isn't it? Mikaela, stop thinking with your emotions and use sense."

"No, maybe _you_ should think less. This is why they all call you weak because you plan too much and do too little. It's _your_ fault it's all gotten this bad."

"If that's how you feel," she replies with a cool look.

Mikaela looks her in the eye, "I do."

She turns on her heel, "Don't let puppy love get you killed."

He's a beat away from responding when a lower ranked member rushes in and interrupts them, "The police have arrived!"

"Again? Tell them we're not interested in talking."

"It's too late for that. They're already inside, looking for you. They said no one else will be harmed, they're only here to arrest you, whatever evidence they have made them confident enough to move."

"Who the hell was stupid enough to let them in?" Krul questions in an icy tone.

"No one, they rammed the gate and had all our access codes. It seems they also have blueprints because they've blocked every exit out.

Krul closes her eyes, "Ferid…" she murmurs.

"You should have already killed him too," Mika states flatly.

She gives him a sharp look, "Get out Mikaela."

"We're in _my_ room."

"Get out the _building_ , they're coming after me and that leaves you with no protection. Get out and get safe."

"What about you?"

"They're not letting me leave, yet I doubt they hold me for long. Though just to be safe, you shouldn't stick around. I'm trusting you still have enough sense to know how to take care of yourself."

Mikaela responds with a sour look before grabbing his emergency bag and heading the opposite way from her with a quietly murmured 'don't die.' He doesn't get far before he hears the heavy footfalls of the police approaching. He presses into the wall when they arrive, prepared for a battle with weapons drawn and shields up. It would be amusing how much they weren't underestimated if it wasn't such a serious situation.

They surround her, cutting off any potential escape and handcuff her, there are men standing guard and clearing a path all the way back to the front exit, he supposes in case anyone tries to fight for her, not that he expects anyone to. Their evidence must be thorough for _this_ many people to be sent to apprehend her. For some reason, he doesn't think Krul's going to be released anytime soon.

"Well, this is unexpected, isn't it!"

Mikaela glances up to meet Ferid's amused gaze with a cold look, he didn't even feel the asshole approach. "Maybe it would be, if we didn't know you were behind it."

" _Me?"_

"Yes, _you._ Blueprints leaked? Access codes? Not many people have access to them."

"I am extremely hurt that you don't trust me."

"You've never given me a reason to!"

"Hmm, in that case," Ferid takes on a contemplative expression, "You've got about ten minutes before Lest and Kureto take over, then this place goes into lockdown. I suggest you take the second level back exit, I have a feeling it'll be clear."

"You _are_ the traitor!"

Ferid smiles mildly, "You better hurry, nine minutes now."

Mikaela shoots him a scathing look on his way to the suggested exit. Ferid may be competent, but he has no idea why Krul thought it was a good idea to keep someone around this high ranking that she barely trusted. If she ever gets the hell out, maybe she'll finally take action do something about him and everyone else too. Who knows if he'll be back in time to see it though, now's the perfect time to get Yuu and go to ground.

~~~~~  
Yuu drops onto his bed, the last few days have really been testing him. After Guren's complete flip out on him, he swears the man yelled at him for hours, Guren's been almost attached to his side, looking over his shoulder and dragging him along anytime he has to leave the house.

They haven't even discussed his return to school at this point. He's messaged his friends some, but everything's a little awkward now and he hasn't been able to tell them much. Mostly he just stays at home hoping to hear from Mikaela or accompanies Guren to the station or anywhere else he needs to go. It's extremely boring after the past few weeks, but it is the normal he wanted.

He's just starting to doze off when a knock on his window startles him awake and he's back on full alert. Cautiously he makes his way over, wondering if he should call Guren for backup until he sees two big cerulean eyes peering at him through the glass.

"Mika!" Yuu gasps, shoving open his window, "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm here for you, duh!"

"But, I thought you didn't want me involved…"

"Believe me, I don't! _At all._ But, you're right, we've been together this long and you can make your own choices. As much as I don't want to put you in danger, I have to respect your choices."

"Finally!"

Mika rolls his eyes, "It was easier not to fight Krul then, we would have lost either way."

"Speaking of Krul, I can't believe she let you out of her sight."

"She's been arrested."

"...what?"

"The police arrested her, I think Lest may have leaked some information to aid them when Kureto was visiting."

"That's really bad."

"Yeah."

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"I'm not, but panicking won't help anything. The minute they arrested her, I left. It wasn't going to be same there anymore."

"So, what happens now?"

I'm not sure...I don't even know what the charges are or how long she'll be held. Lest will probably take over, I'll probably disappear for a little while until I find out what will happen to Krul."

"I'm coming with you!" Yuu yells immediately.

"I was hoping you would."

Yuu grins down at him, "You really _are_ more agreeable now!"

"Well, I couldn't resist you for long," he smirks.

"Let me just grab a bag."

"Kay."

"Yuu?"

Yuu freezes at the sound of Guren's voice, "Yeah?"

"Open up, I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You don't get to ask questions anymore, just open the door."

He sends a panicked look between the door and Mika, unsure of the best option, but Mika decides for him. "Talk to him, we'll meet at the school in three hours."

"Yuu! Now!"

He nods hastily and moves towards his door as Mika drops from his window and disappears. "Yes?" He questions, opening the door slightly to Guren's annoyed face.

Guren shoves the door open and pushes Yuu out of the way to take a seat at his desk. "They've arrested Krul. It seems like they've gotten some very convincing evidence."

"Such as?"

The older male gives him a look, "I'm not going to discuss that with you."

Yuu throws up his hands in frustration, "Then _why_ are you telling me this?"

"Because there's a good chance they'll arrest Mikaela too."

He freezes, "What?"

"You already know he's not innocent, I'm giving you a heads up that the next time you see him, it may be behind bars."

"So you came here to be cruel?" Yuu spits out angrily.

"No, that was one part and the other is depending on what you've done, you may end up behind bars with him." Yuu sucks in a breath. "So, if there's anything you want to tell me, now would be the time."

"You really think I've done something?"

"I don't know what the hell you've done the past few weeks! That's why I'm telling you. If you get arrested, my hands are tied."

"I don't have anything to tell."

Guren gives him a long look, "I'm only trying to help you, so I really hope that's true for your sake., Come down for dinner."

Yuu shuts his window once Guren is gone and starts to panic. He and Mika could be arrested? What the hell? He hasn't killed anyone, so he's pretty sure he'll be fine, but Mika has killed a lot of people! If they find out, they'll try him as an adult, they'll never be together! He sends up a silent prayer to the universe that the evidence against Krul doesn't incriminate Mika before they can get away. He did tell Mika they could run away together after all, as unlikely to happen as that's starting to seem.

Dinner is quiet, Yuu watches TV and Guren does paperwork as they eat. Typically dinner would be a bonding time, but Yuu knows Guren is only making an effort to do his work from home to keep a close eye on him. Otherwise, he'd be eating alone again. Sad it took him being a murder suspect and running away to keep Guren home more. Shinya isn't here and he hasn't seen him since he's come back home and honestly he's grateful. Guren's anger is enough without adding Shinya's sadness and disappointment to the mix.

Afterwards Yuu remains in the living room, watching TV with Guren while planning how he's going to sneak out. He _really_ hopes this isn't the final straw that pushes Guren over the edge because he truly does love his guardian, but he loves Mikaela too. If Guren actually did give up on him and throw him out, he doesn't know what he'd do. He's risking everything for Mikaela, he can only hope there's something left afterwards.

45 minutes before he's due to meet Mikaela,he heads upstairs to quickly pack a bag, then hurriedly scrawls out a quick note to Guren and slips out of his window, careful to keep the noise level down. The music he left playing in his room won't hide the sound of thuds if he falls. Yuu drops to the ground and immediately flattens himself to the ground, shuffling forward quickly. He can't risk taking his car, so he'll have to go on foot until he catches a bus.

He heads down the street, keeping out of sight of the first floor windows, moving as quickly as possible away from his house. He has the fleeting thought of 'what has my life become,' but doesn't have time to dwell on it when he spots the bus lights a few blocks away.

Yuu picks up speed to make it to the stop in time, but doesn't get within a block of his destination before his feet slide from under him and he hits the sidewalk hard, scraping a few inches of skin off. He hasn't even begun to piece together what caused his unexpected fall when he feels himself being dragged quickly out of sight.

A hand is clamped over his mouth and two guys pin him to the ground. It isn't until he hears them speaking German that he realizes what's happening, looks like he didn't make it to Mika fast enough.

~~~~~  
Mika goes pale as he checks his text message from Yuu. It's not good news. He takes a breath and turns off his screen, there's really no point in hesitating over it, there's only one option for him. There's no one for him to call, he hasn't heard from Lacus and Rene, Krul's in jail, and Yuu's the one he's trying to help. He's truly alone and of course it's a trap, but he's not leaving Yuu.

When he reaches the compound, they let him in without question and it feels like he's walking to his execution as he's directed to Krul's audience hall. The doors are wide open, they don't fear anything from him. He steps into the room and he's directly across from Lest who has taken Krul's seat with Yuu held down next to him. "Glad to see you could make it Mikaela."

"I'm not."

He inclines his head, "Of course you wouldn't be appreciative, considering the circumstances."

Mikaela raises his gun, "Let Yuu go."

Lest's lips quirk upwards and he doesn't have a chance to react before he feels his arm being snapped with a sickening crack. He hits the ground, dropping his gun, and looks up to see Kureto's boot on his back. He shouldn't even be surprised it was Kureto, he can barely make out Yuu's yells in the pain haze from landing on his broken arm.

"Did you really think you could pull a gun and nothing would happen?" Kureto smirks down at him, "It's only because of me that you weren't killed immediately, but rest assured you will die. Then, Krul will find out what it's like to lose family." Kureto moves his foot to step on his arm and Mikaela's eyes cross.

When he comes to, he's still facedown in the floor and Kureto has moved near Yuu, but has a gun trained on him. "You weren't out for long, where would you like me to hit first. Your leg? Your other arm? Or maybe you want it over with as soon as possible, your heart?"

"Will you let him go after?"

"Does it matter?" Mika remains silent. "Time's up." Kureto pulls the trigger, someone slams him into the ground and the bullet misses it's target. He's dragged backwards by his ankles while armed men wearing black with dark red insignias spread out in front of him and throughout the room. Mikaela glances up at his assaulters and blinks in surprise. "Lacus? Rene? What are you guys doing here?"

"We're your partners, idiot! I can't believe you came with just Yuu as backup."

"I didn't have much choice."

"Yeah, yeah," Lacus hauls him by his uninjured arm and drags him around the corner. "So, looks like this is about to get pretty bad."

"Who are they?"

"They're Lest's people and some of Krul's former supporters who now support him."

"I've gotta get Yuu-chan."

Rene peers around the corner, "You know I think he's the safest one of all, Kureto's got a pretty good grip on him."

"Kureto may care somewhat, but that doesn't mean Lest will!"

"Geez Mika, we're gone for a few days and you let Yuu get captured and you get a broken arm."

"I'm trying my best!"

"Let's just get Yuu and get out of here, I'm pretty sure things are about to get a lot worse once Kureto realizes what's about to happen.."

"...Why?"

"He has no intention of letting Kureto take control. He's brought his own people to take over."

"Then why didn't he let Kureto kill me?"

"That wasn't him, that was us. _We_ didn't want you to die, we'll probably catch hell later for moving too soon and revealing our presence. He was going to let you die first."

Mika nods, "Thanks guys," he replies with sincerity.

Lacus makes a gagging noise, "We have each other's backs, don't get all sappy on us, save that for Yuu."

"We should wait until they start fighting each other when they'll be too distracted to notice," Rene comments.

"Which should be right about now," he murmurs when they hear the first sounds of yelling start, followed quickly by the sound of guns firing.

"Yuu!"

"Mika, wait!"

He hears them call after him, but he has to reach Yuu before it's too late. Dropping to the ground at the entrance, he can see both groups attacking each other and Yuu hiding near the front while Kureto takes cover from Lest. Bullets are flying and they're the only ones without protection. He hits the wall and crawls around the perimeter, staying low to the ground and using his good arm to balance himself.

Yuu's eyes light up when he sees Mikaela approaching and he drops to the floor also, moving cautiously away from his hideout. Mika freezes when he sees Yuu's movement catch the attention of Kureto and he already knows what's coming next. It takes two seconds for Kureto to follow Yuu's sightline to Mika and the same amount of time for the bullet to dive into the flesh of his torso.

As he crumples to the ground, Yuu's screaming, Lacus and Rene's angry curses at him, and all the sounds of the room fade out while he fights to stay conscious. Yuu must have thrown caution to the wind because a few seconds later, he registers someone gripping his hand tight and pressure on his side that makes him lose the battle to stay conscious.

~~~~~  
"Yuu? I'm going to bed, are you still up?" Guren jiggles the doorknob when he doesn't receive an answer. "Yuu, cut the music down!" He jiggles the doorknob angrily again, then pulls out his phone and dials Yuu, receiving no answer. He curses to himself, but he has to make sure Yuu's in there before he goes to bed.

Guren grabs the screwdriver from downstairs and begins unscrewing the doorknob. After this, he may just leave Yuu without a doorknob, not like he needs one anyway, he's lost all personal right. He throws open the door, prepared to yell and Yuu's nowhere in sight, only a sheet of paper on his bed.

He prays and prays it's not what he thinks it is as he approaches the bed and picks up the paper. Guren quickly scans the note before crushing it in his fist, he's absolutely sick of this shit, of Yuu and Mikaela both. He grabs his keys on the way out the door to the station, one person is guaranteed to know where they could've gone and he'll grab one of those house arrest anklets while he's there.

Guren shoves the door open and storms past the man keeping guard right up to Krul's cell. "Krul! Where the hell is my son?!"

She sends Guren a blank look, "How should _I_ know? He's _your_ son."

"Don't play games with me! I found his note saying Mikaela was in danger and he was going with him!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm still in this jail cell with no means of communication. Why you think I would know anything, I can't begin to understand."

"You expect me to believe you don't know where Mikaela would go?"

"There are many places he could go, he simply has to pick one." Guren swears, kicking the bars in frustration. "However...I could be persuaded to check the GPS on Mikaela's phone."

He glares down at her, "Persuaded _how_?"

"I think we both know the answer to that."

Guren leans close to the bars, "If this is a lie, I'll make sure you never get out."

"I'm not the one who's worried."

He glances around to make sure no one's in sight before unlocking the gate and sliding it open. "You have five minutes."

"And then what? Nothing, you can't do anything."

Guren points to a computer, "Just find him."

Krul takes a seat, types quickly for a few minutes, then pauses, "I see."

"You see what?" Guren questions, leaning over her shoulder.

"A little space, please?"

"I don't trust you enough for that." Krul responds with a long suffering sigh and resumes typing, closing the browser when she's gotten sufficient information. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Where are _they_?" He grits out in irritation.

"They're still here."

"...What else?"

"It seems like Mikaela went to your house first, then he went to the school. Yuuichirou left your house a few-"

"Wait, how do you know what Yuu did?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't keep track of someone who knew as much as he did? Continuing on, he left your house a few hours after Mikaela did and it seemed like he was heading in Mikaela's direction, until he stopped and then got in a vehicle heading back to the compound and Mikaela's heading that way."

"So, they're fine?"

"Probably not."

"What?"

"There is no reason for Mikaela to go back, he knows the situation there, he was supposed to escape. If they're at the compound, it wasn't by choice."

"So, they're in trouble?"

"Most likely."

"Let's go."

"And what do you propose to do?"

"Get Yuu out, of course."

"So, you're going to put yourself between the two opposing sides."

"For as long as it takes to get Yuu out, then they can kill each other for all I care."

"I suppose I'll show you the way."

"You better because I'm not lifting a finger to save Mikaela, so you'll have to do it."

"What type of law enforcement are you?"

"I'm a dad first and foremost right now and your son has become the bane of my existence."

Krul looks at him with narrowed eyes, "I'll keep that in mind. Lead the way."

"Let me call Shinya."

~~~~~  
"Mika! Mika! Wake up! Hold on! Just stay awake, Krul will be here soon."

"No, she won't. They've locked her away, remember? Kureto and Lest are in control."

"But, someone will come!"

"I don't think...they will. We'll all be dead by then." Mika closes his eyes, the pain in his side and arm is unbearable.

"Mika, you can't die!"

"I'm sorry, Yuu-chan."

"Mika, no!" He feels Yuu's tears falling on his face and his desperation to keep Mika awake, but he's too tired to keep struggling. The faster he dies, the sooner Yuu will give up and try to get away.

Yuu jerks up when he hears screaming and the sound of a door splintering. He sees an endless group of armed men storm the room and start firing. He drops to the ground, he doesn't know whose men they are, but their bullets are just as dangerous. Yuu flinches and automatically tightens his grip on Mika when he feel someone grab his arm.

"Yuu, let's go!"

He glances up to see Guren and Shinya looking down at him in panic. "I can't leave Mika, Guren!"

"Yuu, he's as good as dead! You shouldn't even be here!" He yanks on his arm, but Yuu refuses to budge.

"No, he's not! We can save him!"

"Yuu, we don't have time for this! I'm not going to risk your life for someone who dragged you into this mess!"

"I'm not leaving him!"

Guren nods to Shinya and he grabs Yuu's other arm, peeling his fingers off Mika, and dragging him up. "I'm sorry, Yuu."

"Let me go!"

"It's clear, Shinya. Let's go."

Guren and Shinya start running towards the exit, jumping over fallen bodies, and dragging Yuu between them. He stares behind him until he can't even see Mika anymore in the chaos. The feeling of failing Mika after everything makes him go numb, he'll never forgive Guren for this.


	25. Chapter 25: Epilogue

Epilogue

* * *

Yuu shifts under Guren's gaze, it seems like the older man never stops watching him now. After three months and not even a hint of trouble, you'd think Guren would relax, but if anything he's gotten even more suspicious. Not that there was anything to be suspicious of, he hasn't seen Mika since that night and has no idea if he's alive or dead. He hopes the former because thinking about the alternative makes him sick to his stomach.

Krul wouldn't tell him anything and their house is always empty now. Lacus and Rene never showed back up to school, so who knows what happened to them either. He was finally cleared as a suspect in Shinoa's murder, it didn't make much of a difference though, since he was essentially grounded forever and people at school never looked at him the same again anyway.

Everyone at school was a little wary of him, even his friends. For the first time, he finally understood what Mika must have felt all the time when everyone whispered about him once his back was turned. He's not surprised everyone knows, it's impossible to keep something that big a secret. None of his friends have said anything, but he can tell that they all understand where Shinoa was coming from now and wish he had listened.

He might have done some things differently, but he would never regret Mikaela.

~~~~~  
Mika gazes out across the lawn of Ferid's mansion and thinks back to what happened that night three months ago…

 _His eyes had cracked open when he felt someone scooping him up after Yuu had been dragged away, he only got a glimpse of silver hair before his side was jostled and he whited out again. He came to again a few minutes later as Ferid hurried them down the corridor, they were close enough that he could still hear people screaming and faintly, Krul calling his name. "Put me down."_

" _So you can die? You can't even walk and you're losing a lot of blood."_

" _I'd be better off with them, you're the traitor."_

 _He heard several shots fired off in their previous direction and Ferid tsked, "You really think so? In that chaos, I'm sure you'd be trampled. Dead before anyone was able to help you, at least this way you have a fighting chance. If you stop squirming long enough for me to get you to a hospital."_

 _Mika hated to say it, but Ferid was right. He was in a lot of pain and his arm was broken, apparently no one even noticed he'd been taken, there was no way he would have gotten help anytime soon in the middle of the fighting. Ferid, of course, covered his own ass and must have hightailed it out of there without anyone knowing at the first sign of things going South. Grudgingly he had to admit, he's lucky Ferid took him, he could only hope Yuu was as made it out as well._

When his sedatives from the hospital had finally worn off, he'd woken up in a bed in Ferid's safe house, fully patched up and alone. The traitor had come in shortly after to keep him from leaving the bed and questioned him.

"What do you want to do, Mikaela?"

"I want to go back home of course."

"Hmm...really? It's only been a few days."

"A few days?!"

"Yes, you've been on pain medication."

"How much did you give me?!"

"Enough to make sure you stayed asleep until I finished handling my affairs. I can only imagine everything would have been that much harder with you fighting to get home."

"You drugged me."

"Indeed."

"I want to go home."

"Your arm's still broken and you're still recovering from that bullet wound. You'd probably be a hindrance more than anything."

"I don't care."

"Krul doesn't need to worry about you while she regains control. There are still a few stragglers against her, you're too weak to defend against being targeted, plus you don't want them to target Yuuichirou. Just stay put and stay silent."

"Some stragglers?"

"Yes, it turns out quite a few people were against the needless loss of life that happened when Kureto and Lest took over. It was quite a mess, enough to turn minds back towards simpler times. Although, there are still some who disapprove of Krul, a majority consider her control the better option."

Mika sighs and leans back on his pillows, "Why did you save me?"

"Why? I've always cared, you know that. You were like a nephew to me."

"You have a weird way of showing it."

"I can't help who I am, Mikaela dear."

"And teaming up with Lest Karr?"

"Sometimes things need a little stirring up. Besides, despite your feelings towards me, I've always looked out for you and you know it's the truth."

He shrugs and looks away. Ferid may be right, but he's not going to admit it.

"I saved your life, doesn't that make up for everything?"

Mika hunches his shoulder without responding, it probably does.

"Well, I'll leave you to your thoughts, but I'd strongly recommend staying away for a while longer."

To be honest, no matter how much he wanted to go back to Yuu, he _had_ desperately wanted a break from everything and that was his main motivation for staying with Ferid.

And now, three months later, he was still here, but maybe now it was finally time to go back. Ferid wouldn't be returning just yet, after all, he'd had a hand in everything, so laying low was still in his best interest. But, Mika was free and clear to go home especially with his side and arm fully healed now. Three months was enough of a break and enough time to make up his mind.

When he returned, he was quitting. No more of this messy business for him, no matter what Krul said.

A Year and a Half Later

Yuu lets out a quiet groan as Mika pins him down by his hips and twirls his tongue around the tip of his shaft.

"I see why you like strawberry so much," Mika teases, licking his lips. "I wonder if peach is just as good," he ponders, reaching for the other bottle of lube.

"Mika…" Yuu groans out, using his grip on the other boy's hair to force his head down.

"Fine, fine," he laughs, taking Yuu fully into his mouth and ignoring the tightening grip on his hair as the black haired male sighs.

Mika concentrates on his task, sliding his tongue along the underside of Yuu's length just like he likes. He's rewarded with a stuttered gasp and Yuu trying to force his hips up. Mika chuckles, massaging his fingers into the V of Yuu's crotch. Once he uses his tongue on Yuu's favorite spots, he's too riled up to be patient. If Mika didn't hold him down, he wouldn't be surprised if Yuu took over and used Mika's mouth for his pleasure. Fortunately, his grip is tight.

He speeds up, sliding up and down Yuu's shaft and using his hand for the base.

"M-mika...more…" Yuu pants out, his free hand fisting in the sheets.

Mika chuckles, he knows Yuu's close by how tense his body is and the heaviness of his breathing, Yuu won't say anything though. He likes it when Mikaela swallows, so he won't give a warning in case Mika decides to finish him with his hand. Mikaela had refused to give him oral for a week the first time he pulled that, but now he knows the signs enough to pull away in time if he wanted to. Though, for Yuu's pleasure, he rarely ever does.

One particularly hard suck and a quick stroke has Yuu releasing into his mouth and Mika swallows before pulling off with a wet pop, reaching up to twine his fingers with Yuu's as he comes down from his high. He hears the oven beep from the kitchen and places a light kiss on Yuu's cock before letting go of his hand and sitting up.

"You can't go _now_ , Mika," Yuu complains, reaching for him.

"Have to, your cake will burn."

"Then let it."

"Not a chance," he replies, squeezing Yuu's thigh and standing up.

Yuu watches him leave the room then pulls up his shorts and climbs off the bed. He takes a seat at the table and grins as Mika removes the pans from the oven and sets them on the stove to cool. Mika has been spoiling him rotten ever since they moved in together and he's pretty sure that was one of the best days of his life.

The moment Guren let him go off to college was the day he was finally free. After that night at the compound, Guren kept him on such a tight leash. He made no secret of how disappointed he was and demanded to know where Yuu was at all times and, he even cut back on hours at his job so he could keep a closer eye on him.

Three months later, when Mika finally showed up again, healthy and safe, he was so relieved, Yuu had jumped on him immediately, but Guren flipped out and refused to have Mikaela anywhere near their house and he wouldn't let Yuu go anywhere near Mikaela if he could help it. They had a huge fight about it with Guren threatening to send him off to military school if he didn't respect his rules. He hadn't wanted to be that far from everyone, so he'd had no choice but to obey Guren's wishes.

That hadn't stopped him from seeing Mika though, they just had to be sneakier about it. Though, because Krul insisted on keeping him home with tutors until graduation, the moments they had were few and far between, but they managed to survive by grabbing what little time together they could get. It was a long year and a half, but the months leading up to college were _agonizing_ , knowing that they were so close to being together, but still had to wait.

The day he was free to be with Mika was the day he ran to him and swore he'd never let go. When he arrived at their new apartment and saw Mika there waiting for him, Yuu lost it. He threw himself at Mika sobbing, and Mika teased him relentlessly about being the crybaby now, but Yuu couldn't care less. He'd have plenty of chances to tease Mikaela back in the coming years.

It took a while, but they finally managed to run away together. If you could really call it that, since everyone knew where they were.

"Come here, Mika," Yuu calls, holding out his hand. Mika glances back before coming over to settle in Yuu's lap and give him a kiss.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, you taste like fake strawberry," Yuu responds, returning the kiss.

"Obviously!"

"I didn't tell you to use those flavored lubes. I prefer real strawberries."

Mikaela pushes away from him with a disgruntled noise and moves to the sink, "Then next time just use your hand!"

Yuu's about to make a retort when he phone rings and instead he answers the unfamiliar number with curiosity, "Hello?"

"Yuuichirou?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Mika with you?"

His eyes slide across to rest on him, "Maybe."

"I'm calling in my favor."

"L-"

"Shh!"

"What?"

"Stop trying to find who killed Shinoa. You have Mika back, focus on him. Krul is back in control and whoever ordered her death is gone. Trying to dig through the past to find someone who's gone is just going to cause problems for both of you. Mikaela finally got out, don't drag him back. Look towards the future. You got whoever it was punished, that's enough."

"But-"

"No. You agreed and that's the first favor I'm calling in. Don't listen and I'll come after you myself."

"Who is it Yuu-chan?"

He meets Mika's curious gaze, "It's nothing. Class stuff."

"Do we have a deal?"

"Fine."

"It'd be better if you didn't tell Mika about this. Let him be oblivious for once."

"Fine." Yuu disconnects and drops his phone on the table. Lacus has a point, but he always said he'd find Shinoa's murderers. Have they really been taken care of? He doesn't want to bring it up again with Mika because he's not involved with that anymore and if he does and they can't do anything, what's the point of bringing up those memories? And if they're dead, it would cause them trouble for nothing, especially if Lacus kept his word.

Yuu looks over at Mika humming as he mixes frosting, he would do anything to keep him smiling like that. It's a choice he'll have to make and live with.

"Everything okay, Yuu-chan?"

"Yeah," he smiles back, pushing those memories down. "Everything's great."

* * *

Aaaand it's over! If you've never left a comment, now would be the perfect time to leave one telling me what you thought. :D Thanks to everyone who did comment and thanks everybody for reading!


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